It's been a while since I wrote a blog, there has been so much going on at Sheffield Wednesday over the last few months it was hard to find the moment to sit down and take it all in. Since my last one we've appointed a new manager, played a different style of football, won some games, lost some games. I'll go through my thoughts on it all as well as a bit of a view to next season regardless of what division we will be in.
Darren Moore
After the disappointing collapse down at Luton, where Wednesday had lead 2-0 at half time and should have been 4-0 up they conspired to lose 3-2 and social media was, as you can imagine awash with Wednesday fans wanting answers to the questions that had been fired at Chansiri since Tony Pulis had left. Just on Neil Thompson, while it started fairly well under him, I think it was clear we needed some other voice in there. I like Thommo and from all accounts he's a great coach but I'm not sure how much of that came into effect, I don't think the enforced Covid break helped after the Exeter Cup tie. I think some of his team selections and game management was poor and unfortunately has probably played a big part in why we are, as things stand 23rd in the division. I'm not blaming Thompson as he was put in an unfair position.
After all that, Darren Moore was appointed, while his name had been mentioned it did come a bit from left field. Mostly as that it seemed clear prior to Luton that a new manager didn't seem to be on the horizon. I think personally that it potentially could be a very good appointment. He's a well respected figure in the game, has a good reputation for brining young players either into his club from higher divisions or through the club's academy. He's also played some decent football, in his first few games I think you could see a difference. We've been playing it out from the back more, while it splits opinion if done right it can be very effective.
It's an appointment that, if we're being honest may well have been made with League One in mind, a chance to bring someone in who knows the division we may well be heading into. A good knowledge of the players in that division and knowing how to get a team playing that style of play he wants in that division as he did at Doncaster.
The Moore Era So Far
Life at Sheffield Wednesday didn't exactly begin well for Moore in terms of results, a painful last minute goal won Rotherham the points in his first game before Reading took 10 man Wednesday apart down in Berkshire. I got a bit of stick on certain platforms for saying that while the result against Rotherham was obviously terrible the performance had it's positives. I thought we edged the first half and played OK in spells, if we don't make a mistake at the end, the game ends 1-1.
Reading we started OK, Borner getting sent off and conceding the resulting penalty kills us. But even in defeat we again played OK. This isn't me saying it's acceptable or that I'm happy with the situation but this is where we are. Norwich were next at Hillsborough, again we started well, for 60 minutes the better team, but then Norwich did what Norwich so often do, turn on the quality and Pukki and Cantwell delivered the knockout blows. This Norwich team for me are up there with one of the best Championship teams ever so it was always going to be an uphill task.
A 1-1 draw with Huddersfield followed, while not the greatest game again I thought we edged it before heading to Barnsley where we got the better of this season's surprise package. We out played them, often we've gone to Oakwell and not delivered, this time we did and fully deserved the 2-1 we came away from. Moore deserves a lot of credit for the performance and set up.
The Easter period saw us face Watford and Cardiff. I actually was more optimistic about the Watford game than the Cardiff one. While we weren't amazing at Watford there again were some decent signs, again good passing and composure on the ball. It just seemed to lack that ball into the final third. Obviously this was the first game without Moore in the dugout as he was self isolating after testing positive for Covid. It goes without saying we all wish Darren well and hope he'll be feeling better soon. His team however certainly will have gone some way to improving his mood after Easter Monday's thumping 5-0 win over Cardiff City. It was a fantastic performance, five well worked goals, effort and desire from the first whistle, some body on the line defending at times. It's not very often a Mick McCarthy team gets five put past them and Wednesday fully deserved it.
The Run In
So, after all that. We are seven points from safety with seven games to play, baring in mind Rotherham who are in 22nd and just ahead of Wednesday on goal difference have three games in hand. Now I'll be honest, I don't think Sheffield Wednesday will get enough points to stay up. While I think we have a slight chance with some of the fixtures coming up It just feels, and has done for a while, that it's just too much of a gap to bridge. We do play a lot of sides who have little to play for, that could be a big positive, my main issue with this Wednesday team when it comes to looking at those kind of games is we always seem to suit being the underdog, that doesn't always work when you are the team that needs to win, there isn't that other side of it like there was on Easter Monday. I think Wednesday will win a few more games between now and the end of the season but I would firmly have one eye sadly on League One and hope the club are already working out a plan. By all means have one for the Championship but failure to prepare.. well you know the rest.
The Future, Chansiri And What Needs To Happen
So we come to probably the most important part of this blog. What needs to happen next? Regardless of whether we stay up or go down the needs to be changes at Sheffield Wednesday. Four years on from losing to Huddersfield in the Play Off Semi Final at Hillsborough the club has only gone backwards. I'll say again, I don't believe Dejphon Chansiri is a bad man, I don't believe he has ill intentions. I do however think he has been naive and stubborn. You can't afford to be either of those two things as the owner of a football club.
The lack of structure at the club is a persistent problem. No Director Of Football, No Commercial Director, No CEO. You can't run a football club like that. These things need to change if Wednesday are to progress. I don't think it's even a debate anymore.
The appointment of Moore will only be a good one if you allow him to do the job, let Moore identify the players he wants, let him work on a style of play and give him time. I don't believe if Wednesday go down that next season will be a promotion charge in League One. The club needs a reset, it probably, as painful as it is to say, a year of mid table mediocrity. That isn't to say we'd have no chance but clubs in the division are already well ahead of Wednesday off the pitch.
We also have to touch, once again on ticket prices. If all goes well and according to plan fans should be back inside Hillsborough for next season. Charging the prices we do for Championship football is bad enough, in League One It'll only be worse. I already think Covid may well have had a big impact on Wednesday's crowds. How many will be out of the habit? How many will have found other things to do? How many just won't be able to afford it?
For me, if I owned a football club I'd be doing everything I can to put an arm around the supporters who hadn't been inside the ground for what will be 16 months. I appreciate the club will need to make money but we've seen during this period of time, football without the fans is nothing. We're still owed money for last season, things like that, Chansiri has to understand what he owns, the potential ally he has with the fans. Like I've said before, talk to the fans, listen to them, we all want the same thing.
Whatever happens I'll return at the end of the season, or sooner if anything significant happens, for an end of season roundup. Fingers crossed, somehow we're still a Championship club.
Thanks for reading,
Tom
WAWAW
