Welcome to the first of what will be a monthly review of Sheffield Wednesday's 2018/19 season. Ideally this would have included the last game before the international break but the calendar doesn't quite fall nicely enough this year. It's been a bit of an up and down month or so for Wednesday, some of it off the pitch and some of it on the pitch. It's been one of the more interesting opening months for a number of different reasons.
Matches
Wigan Athletic
So we'll begin with a round up of all the games played so far. The opening day saw us make the trip to newly promoted Wigan Athletic and I must admit it was a game that worried me. Not to suggest we shouldn't be going there and winning but a newly promoted team at home in with a group of players that know each other and have a style of play they've been used to for twelve months? It was always going to be tough. That's not to say we shouldn't have done better, we should. It was a disappointing performance. Defensively we were all over the place, we conceded three goals and at least two were fairly preventable. Going forward we actually did ok, scored two and the 2nd scored by Fernando Forestieri was a lovely move and finish. A glimpse of what this side is still capable of producing. A frustrating day certainly but not as disastrous as maybe it could have been.
Hull City
After that a week later we opened the home campaign with a 1-1 draw against Hull City. Hull started better, could have been 2-0 up in the first 10 minutes. We grew into the game and deserved to equalise, we could have gone on and won it. Steven Fletcher had at least three good chances to finish it off. Overall it's those fine margins that are so vital at this level. However though i thought still 1-1 was a fair result. It was a game we'd probably have lost last season.
Sunderland
A Thursday night trip up to Sunderland was next on the agenda in the League Cup. Another potential banana skin but Wednesday despite another slow start came out 2-0 winners up at the Stadium of Light. It was a decent showing from some of the younger lads. It's interesting to see so many of the names mentioned over the last few years coming into the team. Something Wednesday haven't done enough off in the last few years is bring players through from the academy into the first team. I was pleased to see Marco Matias get on the scoresheet. A player who I have backed a lot after a lot of criticism in the last few years.
Brentford
A first win under the belt meant Wednesday went down to Brentford with a bit more confidence the following Sunday. However it was a very disappointing weekend in the capital. Wednesday were beaten 2-0 and it was a comprehensive defeat. Despite not looking too bad until Brentford were given a penalty and Neal Maupay converted it, it was a uphill task from then on. Overall it was a bit of a wake up call. The after match social media was in my opinion slightly over the top. Sometimes you have days like that, sometimes you just have to accept a better side have beaten you. I do feel that the travelling and Thursday/Sunday turnover did have a slight impact as some of the sharpness we have seen in the players in the opening three games was not there.
Millwall
It was there however the following Wednesday evening as Wednesday were back at Hillsborough for the visit of Millwall. Millwall for me a fantastic example of what believing in a manager and his players can do. They don't have a load of superstar players but they have a good group of players who work hard and are tough to beat. Wednesday went 2-0 in front through goals from Barry Bannan and Tom Lees and put in an excellent performance. Millwall pulled one back through Ryan Tunnicliffe but Wednesday held on for a vital first league win. Jos had switched his formation from a 343 to a 4231 and it worked. While I don't believe three at the back is quite gone I would persist with the four. We have players who seem comfortable in in and it allows other players in the side to do their jobs better. Joey Pelupessy has benefited from the change as it allows him to focus on what he does best. Tom Lees just looks so much more comfortable in a four. The game also saw two new inclusions, Matt Penny who'd come off the bench at Sunderland and Fraser Preston. Both were excellent and looked as though they'd been part of the team for years. Overall a good night at Hillsborough.
Ipswich
A few days later and another home game as Handsworth's own Paul Hurst brought his new Ipswich team up to Hillsborough. Ipswich similarly to Hull seem to have the edge over us at Hillsborough before Saturday we hadn't beaten the Suffolk side since 2007 at S6. A 2nd 2-1 of the week meant that record ended. A brace from Lucas Joao who'd extended his contract before the Millwall game ensured Wednesday won a tight game. It was interesting watching as Wednesday who in my opinion have struggled with set pieces for a while won a game against a side who for years had been so effective at stopping them. While it wasn't quite the performance of the previous Wednesday evening it was a battling victory and hard fought. We haven't won enough of those games over the last 18 months or so. If we are to achieve anything this season it will be down to results like that.
Wolves
Finally to round off the games in August we played host to Premier League Wolves in the 2nd Round of the League Cup. It was a bit of a free hit for Wednesday and with Jos making 11 changes it was an chance for some of the players to show what they had to offer. We did ok, despite a fair amount of quality in the Wolves team they found it difficult to break down Wednesday who gave starts to the likes of Freddie Nielsen and Jack Lee as well as emerging Right Back Ash Baker and another start for Fraser Preston who both were excellent. Wolves ran out 2-0 winners and in the end it came down to one or two moments of quality. We were in the game for large spells and on another night might have got something.
Off the pitch
I'm sure the majority of Wednesday fans reading this will have some idea of what has gone on over the last month off the pitch. The Owls announced they were under a transfer embargo and had been under it since April. The news didn't exactly shock or surprise Wednesday fans as no business had been done in terms of incomings in the summer. However the reaction to the news was mixed. Some were annoyed the club hadn't announced it as soon as they knew they were under it. I can see why some fans would want to know that but at the same time I can see the club's point of view. I must stress at this point that anything said here in this next sentence or so is my own opinion. I'm certainly not fortunate enough to be 'In the know'. In my opinion the club probably thought they'd be out of the embargo earlier than they were and had deals lined up. We know they were looking at Jack Baldwin at Peterborough who went to Sunderland and Sunderland's own George Honeyman was also linked to the Owls. Frederico Venancio was also heavily linked with a Hillsborough return but even through it looked nailed on he ended up going elsewhere. The club came out of the embargo after the Sunderland game and it has allowed them to tie Lucas Joao and Barry Bannan to knew deals which is hugely encouraging news. Worst case scenario is that we get a fee for either of those players should offers come in. That's not to say I want to see either player leave, both have a huge part to play and Bannan in particular is arguably the most important player at the club. Just on Bannan, I've seen a lot of people questioning why he'd sign (yes I had already prepared this bit before he signed the new deal). Well look at Barry's career, came through at Villa but was never a regular there, was loaned out several times and despite being a decent talent was let go from Villa Park. He went to Crystal Palace who never really fancied him and again found himself out on loan. He arrived at Hillsborough in 2015 and dare I say it was a crossroads moment for him. He's been fantastic since arriving and has become a fans favourite. The fans love him, the other players love him, he seems to love playing here and if we cast our minds back to Wembley the only two songs I remember being sung were 'On our Way' and 'We've got Bannan'. That tells you something of the love the fans have for Bannan. He's found a club where he's one of the star men and he's appreciated. Somewhere where he'll more than likely play every week. Sometimes that is more important than a bit more on the wage packet or a Premier League badge on your arm.
Along with the news of the embargo there were several other things discussed at a fans forum and a steering group meeting. It's fair to say the fans are split still on Mr Chansiri but for me he's doing his best. There's no point in saying what should have happened here or then. The past is the past. What matters is what happens going forward. The EFL wouldn't have allowed Wednesday to come out of the embargo if Wednesday hadn't satisfied they could meet the criteria needed to pass the Profit and Sustainability regulations. I could do a whole blog on how I thing the system is broken but that will be another day. All I will say here is if anything thinks it's a level playing field when Aston Villa can bring in Yannick Bolasie on loan clearly has claret and blue glasses.
My overall opinion
Overall I'd say it's been a steady start. It wasn't quite the blazing out of the traps that we would have liked but I'd rather us iron out the mistakes early than start quick and fade. In my personal opinion we will be a inconsistent team. I think we'll know where this team will be by the time we play Leeds at the end of September. As in we'll know what kind of season we're likely to be in for. We'll have had a good number of games to asses who will be where in the division. Hopefully in a months time we'll be looking back on a positive September for Sheffield Wednesday.
Thanks for reading, until next time.
Tom
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