Sheffield Wednesday Season 19/20: A review (of sorts)

Well well well, here we are. At the end of what I think was the weirdest season I've ever seen as a Sheffield Wednesday supporter. Obviously the last few months have been very strange for everyone and when something like a global pandemic happens football is put into perspective. However football does play a massive part in many people's lives. I'll attempt to give some kind of review here of a season that was, well just a bit mental from the off really.

Bruce Bounces and Monk Moves In

For me, and people may well disagree. A lot of Sheffield Wednesday's issues for this season lay with Steve Bruce deciding to leave for Newcastle United in pre season. The last thing Sheffield Wednesday needed in the summer of 2019 was another managerial change. So for it to come about the way it did left a bitter taste in the mouth. I've heard a few people over the time since it happened say, “well just go and get someone else like him” if that manager was available they would have been appointed back in September wouldn't they? It's far from as simple as people seem to have made it out to be. That isn't a slight on Garry Monk, I have a lot of sympathy for Monk and I'll come to why later, he just isn't as good a manager as Steve Bruce, that's just a fact.

Of course anyone reading this will undoubtedly know the story of the season. At Christmas we sat third in the league with hopes of at least staying around the play off positions. We sit here now at the end of the campaign after finishing 16^th. It doesn't take a genius to work out something went majorly wrong in the 2^nd half of the season. We went from being a team that was in every game even if they weren't playing particularly well to a team that was conceding an average of two goals per game. That's a frightening decline and if it wasn't for Hull's shocking loss of form it would probably be a bigger story wider than the local media.

Monk In or Monk Out?

It's probably an unpopular opinion but I think you have to back Monk, you have to understand what he's had to work with. A squad that's needed reshaping for two years, unable to have his own backroom staff with him, unable to spend the money previous managers have had. He's had to deal with the off the pitch drama of the EFL charge which again was nothing to do with him. Yes people will point to the drop off in the 2^nd half of the season but you also have to take the whole season into account. You also have to take into account what's happened in the past. Has changing manager after manager really worked? Not really. Do Wednesday need to back a plan and actually give a manager some time to build a squad of his own making and implement his own ideas? Yes. Monk has had 10 months to asses what he needs and where we need to strengthen. If you bring someone else in they won't have that knowledge, changing for changes sake hasn't worked before and I don't see it working now. Unless you went out and got a top top manager who can work wonders at once what's the point? That kind of manager isn't going to come here with the club in the position it is. We have to accept where we are, you can talk all day about history and how big a club we are and potential. We aren't as an attractive proposition as other clubs in my opinion.

So what next? How do Wednesday kick on from here?

For me, the key things Wednesday need to do are as follows;

• Employ a Director Of Football/Sporting Director
• Employ a Commercial Director
• Implement a plan for both recruitment and across the rest of the footballing side of the club
• Lower ticket prices, try and get some sort of POTG crowd back./Encourage younger fans and families

Don't get me wrong, I do think some of these things are already there in principal, the recruitment I think in the last 18 months has been decent. Iorfa, Luongo, Borner, Harris all good additions as well as the loan signing of Murphy. We need more of those types of signings where they have some form of resale value or we are getting them where they can perform at a certain level for 40 odd games a season.

I do think the arrival of a Commercial Director that could communicate with the fans would be a big help. That's not to say the people already at the club don't do a good job, but this is something different. There is a gap between the club and it's supporters, I think that's kind of obvious. Trying to close that gap with off field matters would at least build a bit of trust within the fan base. You can never guarantee results but if you're winning small battles off the pitch that can go a long way in my opinion.

EFL Charge and hopes for Next Season

At the time of writing there has still been no decision made by the Independent Commission on the case involving Wednesday and the EFL. Obviously the outcome of that has a fairly big impact on the planning for next season. We don't know if we will still be in the Championship which as we all know is just ridiculous. Of course regardless of the decision there will be an appeal from the losing side meaning more than likely it will only drag on for even longer. For me any punishment should we lose should apply to next season, it would have done anyway as far as I am aware as the trial was originally scheduled for July. The idea that we could be relegated based because of a decision made after the season has been concluded is completely unfair of the club. It will no doubt have a major impact on how much the club can do in the summer. A summer already shortened by the Covid-19 situation.

For me, regardless of Wednesday's outcome the EFL needs a reform. It needs independent people from outside football governing it. Rules that are there to not punish ambition and stringent tests in place to stop situations like Bury and Wigan from happening. I love football but I find myself increasingly less enthusiastic at times when so much discussion is that of off the field matters. End of the day most football fans aren't legal experts of people with great interests in balance sheets or profit margins. They want their team to do well and are interested in goals and assists stats and what flavour pie is available.

So that's all for now, I'll probably be back with another blog in the next few weeks. Been a while since I've written anything to do with Wednesday.

Thanks for reading,

Tom

WAWAW (Oh yeah we won that, that was good wasn't it.)

Sheffield Wednesday 2019/20: February Review Part Two

Well, another few games down and once again a lot of talking points regarding Sheffield Wednesday. Another three games in February and some very up and down emotions.

The Matches

Birmingham City

We travelled to Birmingham on the back of the Reading defeat with not a lot of expectation, personally I'd have taken a point before the game. What we got was an odd game with some good positives and some negatives. Conceding early on wasn't idea and you had to admit you were expecting a bit of a capitulation, what you got was a decent response and Barry Bannan managed to get a goal that he'll have thoroughly enjoyed given his Villa connections. Once again we shot ourselves in the foot by allowing Birmingham back into it through poor defending. A penalty however got us back level at 2-2, from there Wednesday probably should have won the game. We deserved to be in front at 3-2 and while Birmingham had their chances Wednesday looked the better side and should have finished off through Murphy only for Scott Hogan to do what Scott Hogan does and finish chances presented to him. Overall I was fairly pleased with the point and felt it was something to build on.

Charlton Athletic

After the Birmingham game we were back at Hillsborough for a chilly Wednesday night under the lights against Lee Bowyer's Charlton. Before the game it had the feel of a big one, arguably the biggest of the season given the run of form and we needed a win and a performance and in fairness we got both. While it's fair to say Charlton aren't a great side they still have quality within their ranks and as ever when a side comes and sits deep it can be difficult. I thought we played well and deserved the three points. Fletcher coming on gave us a different outlet and immediately gave us a different impetus. We created some really good chances and it should have been more than 1-0. The goal coming when it did sparked some great scenes. Celebrating goals, especially winners is what football is all about. It was a fantastic moment, when you haven't scored since the 29^th of December I think you're entitled to enjoy a last minute winner, I really didn't understand the criticism we got for it.

Derby County

Following the positive of the Charlton win there was a bit more optimism around for the arrival of Derby County. That was dashed within half an hour after Derby found themselves 3-0 up. It was a very poor first 45 minutes, a complete disaster really. The worst part of it for me was that Derby didn't have to play well. We gave them so much space, so much freedom. The biggest concern I have with the form since Christmas was that win, lose or draw we were in games and were competing in them from minute 1 to 90+. We aren't doing that enough, Birmingham and Charlton both had good sides to them and the 2^nd half against Derby was alright but when you're already 3-0 it's little comfort. Josh Windass and Dominic Iorfa made a huge difference and both I feel should start down at Brentford. It was a poor afternoon and once again questions were raised about a number of different things. It want to tough on some of them in a moment. What I will say is whatever your opinion on the players, Chansiri, Monk or whoever, Hillsborough is not a nice place a the moment. Toxic is the word being banded around, it's hard to find a better one to be honest.

Connor Wickham

One player who is splitting opinion at the moment is the on loan Palace striker Connor Wickham, for me personally some of the criticism has been very unfair. While he's yet to find the back of the net in his third spell here he's still shown glimpses of real quality. He's not 100% match sharp and that is obvious but that won't come without having time on the pitch. Regardless of your opinion on him that is just fact, it's the same with Fletcher, looked way off it fitness wise at Birmingham, better at Charlton and off it again against Derby, it takes time. Wickham will score goals if given the service and time on the pitch. There were some good links with Forestieri and Fletcher against Charlton and also with Windass against Derby. We have t stick with the lad. Slating him won't do any good.

Monk

Once again following the defeat to Derby there were a lot of calls for Garry Monk to leave the club, once again I feel that sacking Monk wouldn't change much going on at Hillsborough. The time to judge Monk in reality is probably the end of next season, regardless of where that may or may not be. Obviously circumstances in football change quickly but at some point Wednesday need to actually back something for a sustained period of time. Changing for changes sake doesn't work. All these calls for certain ex managers or people like Sam Allardyce are just not going to happen. It feels like the desperation within the fan base is so great that they'll say anything in the hope it happens.

Manchester City

Tomorrow night, Manchester City are in town. Now while I expect little from the game in terms of a result I'll still be going, with hope and will get behind the team. A lot of people aren't going and that's a shame, I understand it to an extent, the prices aren't as cheap as maybe you'd have hope and while I don't think they're too bad I do feel the club had missed a bit of an opportunity to really give something back to the fans here. I've seen a few people saying, play the youngsters, I don't agree with that at all, can you imagine if they were thrashed heavily? That wouldn't do any of them any good. Personally I'd just give it a go, treat it as a free hit. We have nothing to lose. Expect nothing but have some hope, that's all you can treat it as really.

Overall it's been a tough month, we need to see some signs of change at the club for me, regardless of how the EFL's investigation and subsequent points deduction goes we have to have some kind of plan in place or the club won't move forward.

Thanks for reading,

Tom

Sheffield Wednesday 2019/20: February Review Part 1

Well, what a few weeks that's been eh? As there are a total of seven games in February and a whole lot of things to talk about off the pitch I've decided to split it into two blogs this month. As per usual it'll be more a ramble than any sort of structured piece. No real insight just the opinions of a fan.

The Matches

Millwall

We started the months with a visit from Millwall, it was a game that we needed to see a reaction to after the disappointing result and performance at Wigan. That might become a theme over the next few games. Millwall to be fair to them are a decent side under Gary Rowett and I don't think a point against them is the worst result ever. It was a fairly uneventful game with a large lack of quality but there were a couple of sparks, Alessio De Cruz made his debut off the bench while there was a return to the squad for Fernando Forestieri. Both offered something different and while it was 0-0 there was a slight sign of progress.

Barnsley

Following the Millwall game we made the short trip to Barnsley who aren't having the best of seasons. New signings Connor Wickham and Josh Windass made their debuts from the start and Alessio De Cruz made his first start and Fernando Forestieri also started, I was pleased with the line up as Barnsley defensively have been lacking and Wednesday looked on paper to be going for it. It started fairly well with a debut goal for Windass but after than Barnsley were the better side and deserved to win the game. Yes there was an error from Cameron Dawson and while it was an error that cost us the criticism for me was over the top. Dawson actually made a couple of very good saves to keep us level. It was a poor display and worrying that we'd gone out to attack and done very little of it. I felt for the front players as there wasn't a lot being created for them. Wickham's best chance was created pretty much all by himself. We need to do more in the middle of the pitch and give the forwards something to work with.

Luton

Following the disappointing displayed at Oakwell, Luton represented a chance for Wednesday to get a result on the board. No disrespect to the Bedfordshire side but they were bottom of the league having not kept a clean sheet at home all season. Were we actually that surprised with what was served up? I can't say I was, I try to be as positive as possible and if it was a one off I'd be a lot less worried by it but it isn't it's too often now that these players have let the fans down. We were hopeless, no ideas, not a great deal of effort from some. Yes the formation change probably didn't help but in fairness to Monk at least he's trying to find something, his players aren't helping him out much. From the moment Luton kicked off they caught us cold and won a penalty after 15 seconds, it sums the recent run up. We've become easy to play against, no confidence, easy to break down. It was a really bad night for Wednesday.

Reading

So now we come to Saturday's game against Reading, Reading not in great form themselves turned up and I must admit I didn't feel confidant at all, I'll touch on this more in a bit but the mood around the club is awful. The game itself probably wasn't as bad as Luton, conditions were awful, swirling wind and rain. Reading deserved to win no doubt, there was some effort and commitment and I will point out one positive was seeing Liam Palmer as captain, a player who's come through the ranks and does give everything he has. We actually did OK in the first half but switched off to allow Reading in for their first. The 2^nd goal killed the game really and after that it was an inevitable slide towards the third. A bad day but one that was expected, people are staying away and it's hard to fine much to be positive around the club at the moment.

Garry Monk

I'll start this bit by saying that I'm no fan of sacking managers and I don't think we should sack Garry Monk. He's inherited a bad situation for me, this squad needs gutting and rebuilding. Monk deserves the chance to do that in the summer. We can't keep lurching from one thing to the next, as much as the situation is bad it really would just be ignoring the wider issues at the football club. Yeah we're on a bad run and Monk has to take some responsibility for that but is it not maybe better to stick with a manager for a while rather than constantly changing, it hasn't worked for a long time now has it? Is that all on the managers?

What needs to change?

Firstly I think it's important to acknowledge that I respect Mr Chansiri and the investment he's put into our club, I get that some people will not agree with that but for me it's worth respecting. In terms of what he can do to try and move the club forward I have a few thoughts on it. I'm by no means an expert on how to run a football club but I do feel as though there are some obvious areas we need to improve.

Firstly a director of football or a sporting director, whatever the title bring someone into the club who understands football and the different nuances that come with it. It isn't like any other business, it's constantly changing and we seem to lack that football person within the club who might just made a small difference in a number of ways. We also need a commercial director, personally I don't think the club has moved with the times enough over recent years and the only period I thought we did was when Katrien Meire was here, people might disagree with that but at least she seemed to understand what fans wanted from the club off the pitch. Both these I'm sure aren't too hard to find.

As for the overall club, we need a plan. What is our recruitment policy at the moment? Nobody seems to know and I think that's down to the fact we haven't had one for a while. Admittedly the recruitment has been better over the last year or so. Iorfa, Borner, Harris all good examples of this. The profile of the players at least now seems to be right so credit must go to the club for doing that but that still doesn't mean we don't need a long term strategy. If we do come out and tell us, I think part of the reason Chansiri doesn't communicate as much as the fans would maybe like is that he feels that the reaction won't be good. I actually think he'd gain a lot from telling the fans the plan and to communicate with us more. I disagree that there is apathy around the fans at the moment, I think they want to support they just aren't sure what it is they're supposed to be seeing.

I'm not saying we have to be a Brentford who are probably 'too good' at it or Barnsley who stick too much to one plan that has cost them but we need to know the vast majority of our signings are of a certain type. Regardless of what happens this season or with the EFL we have to put a plan in place. Spending big and gambling didn't work and we have to lay that one to rest and build back up again. It might be a process that takes a few seasons but I think most fans would be willing to get behind that if they knew what the eventual end goal was.

Another thing that need addressing is the pricing and facilities at Hillsborough, for me the prices have always been to expensive since they were raised in the summer of 2015, we all know that the reasoning behind this was to increase the amount we could spend on the playing staff. While this kind of made sense and he could back it up with two decent seasons it'll be difficult to see people willing to pay those prices much longer, especially if the worst happened and the club dropped into League One.

I'll say again, I like Chansiri and respect him I just feel as though he put too much stall on promotion to the Premier League and not enough attention to the wider aspects of the club. Yeah we all want to be in the top flight and it's hard not to look up the road and see what's gone on at Bramall Lane and think where they were not so long ago. But as galling as that is it does represent what having a plan and backing a manager can do.

Obviously there is no guaranteed way to get success, it is down to Chansiri for me to come out and tell the fans what the plan is. Give them something to get behind, try and build something long term.

Thanks for reading

Tom

Sheffield Wednesday 2019/20: January Review

Well with January coming to a close here we are again to look through the first month of 2020. It's been a busy one to say the least.

The Matches

Hull City

2020 started with a home game against Hull City, we hadn't beaten the tigers since 2007 on home turf so it would have been nice to end that run. Lets pull no punches here, it was rubbish. It was a poor game that lacked quality and a less than inspiring start to the new year. Hull won it 1-0 with the only real moment in the game where Jarrod Bowen popped up with the winner. There's a lot that's gone on since this game and to be honest I could have a rant in a few of them but these kinds of games are the problem for me, at home, against a side that isn't great where we have to set the tempo and we don't do it. Yes you could argue it was just a few days after Cardiff but that's no excuse really. All round a disappointing display.

Brighton

The FA Cup started with a long trip to Brighton, I have to say with the weird way football is that I fancied us to do something. A changed Wednesday team went down there and did very well and fully deserved the 1-0 win. Brighton also made changes but there were still some very good players on show and in fairness to Wednesday were still probably favourites. Obviously the inclusion of Osaze Urhoghide in the first team was a talking point. We played well and didn't look out of place in the side. His post match interview of course has caught the eye and brought about some much needed good publicity for the club. Overall a good performance and result and for a team that hasn't done much in the FA Cup for a long time now it would be nice to have a real run in it.

Leeds

After that good win at Brighton another big trip to Leeds United. Obviously whenever we go to Elland Road it's a big game. This year seemed slightly bigger given both clubs were in a decent position and have spent time in the top six. Leeds started the brighter as you'd expect but a lack of finishing cost them as despite having a number of chances they failed to penetrate Wednesday's defence. In the 2^nd half Wednesday grew more into it and had chances through Sam Winnall who just couldn't find the target before Jacob Murphy late on managed to find the back of the net from a tight angle. Atdhe Nuhiu rounded off the win late on after a wonderful cross from Adam Reach. Both moves for the goals were excellent and showed exactly what this team can do when on it. Also I saw a number of people criticising Leeds' keeper for not saving Murphy's shot, while I get what they're saying you still have to give Murphy credit for the finish. A fantastic result for Wednesday away at Leeds who I still think will end up in those top two personally.

Blackburn

Ah yes, Blackburn. I think if there's one game in this month's review that people might look for straight away it's this one. Lets make it clear a 5-0 defeat at home is unacceptable. Everybody has said it and we all know it anyway. It was a very flat, uninspiring performance and Blackburn were better in all departments. If you let players who can play play then you run the risk of them battering you and that is exactly what they did. Downing, Armstrong, Holtby, Nyambe. We let them all just do what they want and while they might not be household names they are still good players who we allowed to have the freedom of Hillsborough. Gallagher as well up front was a menace. Obviously the red card had an impact but for me we'd still have lost that game. The response to going 1-0 down wasn't good enough. We'll get into that in a bit more detail later on but it's a massive concern. Fans were leaving before half time, fans that did stay had given up. It was a snapshot of the feeling within the fanbase at the moment and sadly it's not good.

QPR

On the flipside of Blackburn we did see something of a response the following Friday with a trip down to QPR in the FA Cup. Both sides made changes but it was Wednesday who for me at least looked more likely to progress. Goals from Morgan Fox and Sam Winnall in a 2-1 win gave Wednesday a place in the 5^th round. While the stats tell the story that QPR were better it was really only a 10 minute period in the second half where they had the majority of their chances. Wednesday managed to halt that particular storm and take advantage late on through Winnall and for me it was another good away performance. Cameron Dawson received a bit of stick for his mistake late on that lead to QPR's goal. Personally I think it's incredibly unfair to dig him out for that and especially since coming back into the team has barely put a foot wrong.

Wigan

The last game of the month saw Wednesday take a trip over to face Wigan. Now without wanting to sound disrespectful of Wigan they hadn't won at home since October and hadn't won at all since New Year's Day. If you have the expectation of the top 6 then you have to be going into these games and winning them. Especially if you're 1-0 up at half time. Which we were thanks to another goal from Jacob Murphy who I have to say is putting in some good performances after a shaky start to life at S6. The 2^nd half at the DW Stadium was unacceptable, lack of ideas, lack of drive and a comedy of errors defensively. It was very much like a number of other games we've had where either we need to set the tempo or lift it. At 1-1 in that game teams that finish in the top six would at the very least not lose it, we capitulate so easily. I really don't want to go to far in on the players because they are capable and we're still in a decent position and things can change but it wasn't good enough at Wigan.

What now?

These has been a lot of discussion about a lot of different things over the last few weeks, Season tickets, desire, players, manager, chairman, atmosphere. I think we can all sit there and talk about all those subjects for a while and we all have our own opinions on them. For me some things are easier to fix than others. Firstly it all comes back to expectation, for me I said we'd finish 9^th at the start of the season and I have seen little to change that opinion, don't get me wrong I like to be as positive as possible and feel that on our day we have the quality but we lack that consistency. January proved that and without an overhaul of the squad, which was never going to come in January. it is unlikely to change. I say overhaul, facelift would be a better word for me. The idea of ripping it up and starting again isn't really the way forward for me. Bringing in players in the positions we need while moving on players who aren't required any more. Looking for value in the market, I do think the recruitment since January 2018 has been quite good, the likes of Borner and Iorfa have been logical signings. Kadeem Harris another one. Others who might not have worked out still weren't as big a financial gamble as previous years. Ultimately the situation we find ourselves in with the EFL (which nobody knows what will happen come the end of that) is because we had no back up plan for not going up in 2016/17. That's two and a half years ago now and things I believe have moved on.

One thing I did also want to touch on was this thing about desire, do they players care and that kind of thing. We seem now after every game to get at least one or two people saying they didn't see effort and desire from the players. Personally I think it's an easy cop out to say that. They do care, I think the big issue here is that we have a very reactionary fanbase and also quite a reactionary squad of players. This leads me onto another point, the home atmosphere. Now this one has been done to death over the years, do the players have to give the fans something to shout about or do the fans create an atmosphere for the players? In reality it is both and while that sounds like a cop out answer it is true. What I will say is In my opinion there is no reason to try and create an atmosphere for one game and not the other twenty odd games a season. The Hillsborough atmosphere has to a large extent been non-existent this season baring the odd game here and there. Yes a lot of the games have been tight but that's where in my opinion the life from the fans has to come. It's probably a discussion for another day in all honesty but with four home games coming up in February it's vital we get back to winning ways at home after three straight defeats.

One thing I think can help all that is being a bit more positive from the get go, we don't seem to be able to set the tempo of a game at home as well as we should. Don't get me wrong this isn't a criticism of Garry Monk, he's doing the best he can with this squad. One thing that frustrated me against Hull was the amount of times there centre backs passed it around together with the other defenders only to not really go anywhere with it and we didn't get near enough to them. Same against Wigan away we didn't seem to close them down from the front as well as we could. All this might be down to the way Monk wants us to play which is fair enough but as a fan it's frustrating at times.

As I've already touched on before and Monk has come out and said this squad needs refreshing. He's taken a bit of stick in recent weeks and some even calling for his head after the Wigan game, for me that's ludicrous and another example of the desperation in the fan base for me. Garry Monk has arrived here six games into the season, not worked with any of the players before, only been able to bring one of his preferred staff members in, only signed two players one of which is an U23 player and the other we haven't seen play yet (Welcome to Hillsborough by the way Higaldo and Da Cruz). I do think it's time this club allowed a manager to build a squad and follow some kind of plan through and I'll say it again. Steve Bruce leaving the way he did at the time he did thoroughly screwed us over, it set us back and Monk has had to pick up the pieces. The squad mentally I don't think is good enough and that was set in long before Monk arrived. We've dropped 19 points from winning positions this season. That tells you a hell of a lot.

Anyway I've gone on enough for now. Lets hope a busy February will bring an upturn in the Owls' fortune.

Thanks for reading

Tom

WAWAW

Sheffield Wednesday 2019/20: December Review

The last kick of a football for 2019 has been kicked and thus rounds up the year. It's been eventful to say the least and December has come with it's own mix of stories and drama.

The Matches

Brentford

We started December with a visit from Brentford, it was a decent test of where Wednesday were after the win over Charlton. The first half wasn't great, we didn't get anywhere near up to the standard required and Brentford played well, created a bit through some good moves but it was a set piece that gave them the lead. In the 2^nd half however Wednesday were much better, Jordan Rhodes came on at half time and that changed the game, his running and movement gave Brentford something to think about and Steven Fletcher scored twice to give Wednesday a 2-1 win. It was the first time Wednesday had come from behind to win a game since September 2017 (against Brentford funnily enough) and also the first time this season we had beaten a side that sat above us in the table. A pleasing afternoon and a very important result for Wednesday.

Derby

After Brentford it was a midweek trip to Derby County, Wednesday's record at Derby is dreadful. 2006 was the last time the Owls came away with all three points from there. Being honest I can't think off too many occasions where we have deserved a win there but this time we 100% did. While Derby were awful we were outstanding in the first half and once again Steven Fletcher gave us the lead after Barry Bannan capitalised on an awful pass across the goal from Derby's defence. In the 2^nd half Derby improved slightly and Wednesday couldn't quite find that 2^nd goal they deserved. A penalty which in my opinion was never a penalty was given late on and Derby equalised. A frustrating result after a good performance. After the game there were several complains over the subs in particular taking off Fletcher, given his injury record and his importance to the team and that fact he'd already had treatment during the game I think it was logical to take him off. While the performance deserved more however a point away is still no bad thing.

Nottingham Forest

A 2^nd trip to the East Midlands to round off the week, Wednesday's recent record against Forest is impressive, just one defeat in the last ten meeting between the two. Forest are having a decent season and had threats of their own but in similar fashion to Middlesbrough earlier in the campaign we didn't give them much of a chance of showing that. 4-0 up at half time, wonderful. Jordan Rhodes with a hat trick and Steven Fletcher rounding off a brilliant first half for Wednesday. I was so pleased for Rhodes, he deserved a day like that. A lot of people have had their opinion on him, I think a lot of the criticism is unfair, I've always felt that while ever he was here we should persist with him as he had a record that few can match. He showed that at Forest, getting into good positions and taking his chances, that's what he does. Colin Murray summed it up perfectly on Quest TV's highlights show, “Rhodes is only as good as the service you give him”, we haven't done that enough during his time with us. He and Steven Fletcher up front as a two was looking good in pre season and we went away from it but I feel it has legs, both seem to benefit from playing in a two. Back to the team, it was a terrific result which maybe took the division by a bit of a surprise but that's the Championship.

Bristol City

After the high of the Forest game came the last game before Christmas and a home game live on SKY against Bristol City. While it wasn't the most entertaining of games it was enjoyable as a contest. Wednesday could have fallen behind early on after Bristol City carved open a chance on 15 seconds but after that we controlled it. We had enough chances to be in front at half time. Second half I think Bristol City were more than happy with a point and we struggled to break them down but a daft foul by Tommy Rowe on Atdhe Nuhiu lead to a penalty. Now while I agree it was soft it was still a daft thing for him to do and Barry Bannan slotted home to lift Wednesday up to third. It was a deserved three points for me and while it was only half way through, it was nice to be third.

Stoke City

Boxing saw Wednesday back on the road and off to Stoke, the record on boxing day was very impressive. Won the last five, unbeaten in seven. Stoke came into the game in the bottom three, now while they have had a dreadful season and are in the drop zone I still don't think they'll be relegated. They have so much quality in that side. Having said that Wednesday were well below the level required. They fell behind early on after not dealing with Stoke's quality. While they did get back into the game in the 2^nd half and took the lead after goals from Morgan Fox and Tom Lees we chucked it away late on again. Poor defending lead to Stoke winning it with virtually the last kick of the game. A gutting way to lose and while I don't think we can have too many complaints if you have eyes on promotion you can't keep chucking games away like we have done.

Cardiff City

The last game of 2019 and the decade was at Hillsborough against Cardiff, another side we had a decent record against going into the game. Sadly the poor performance we saw at Stoke was repeated against Cardiff. 2-0 down within the first ten minutes made it a touch watch. While the performance did pick up and we got a goal back through Tom Lees we didn't do enough to get anything from the game, while I don't question the effort or commitment of our players we do lack ideas. We still haven't addressed the issue of taking responsibility. Without Steven Fletcher for the last few games we struggle. Atdhe did his best when he came on as did Sam Winnall and Jordan Rhodes but they all offer slightly different things. Rhodes as we said before is only as good as the service you give him and we didn't seem to create enough to give anyone a decent chance. You can't give teams two goal starts in this league. It's too good a standard to expect to do that and get away with it. One other thing to note from the game was the shocking decision to not send Junior Hoilett off for his tackle on Liam Palmer, I say tackle, assault would have been a better term. It was a shocking two footed lunge that on any other day would have seen red, Tim Robinson once again showing another glorious reason why he should not officiate games of football, horrific tackle that could have been much more serious. I hope Liam is OK.

25 Games in: Where do I see us?

If we look at the league in it's simplicity and ignore other things going on off the field if you'd have offered me 6^th after 25 games I'd have taken it. I think most sensible Wednesday fans would have taken it. I've seen a lot of criticism of Monk after the Cardiff game, really? He's had no pre season, he's not had a transfer window, he's working with a squad that does need refreshing and yet he's getting a tune out of it more often that not and has us in a decent position. Crazy really. I didn't expect a top six challenge, I think this was always going to be a year of rebuilding and hopefully progression after the last two seasons. If we can do anything in January to add to the squad then maybe we'll finish in there but if we don't it's not time to panic.

In terms of the off the field things, nobody really knows what will happen with the EFL and the Independent panel's decision regarding Wednesday's sale of Hillsborough. That is casting a cloud over the season, I've heard more than one person say they're losing interest due to it and to be honest it's hard to argue with it at times. There could realistically be a situation where we go from a top six challenger to a relegation fighter and while I'm sure the fans would still try and get behind the team for whatever was needed the psychological blow of losing those points could have a huge impact. From a personal point of view until we know what is happening you just have to get behind the team, a decision might not come before the end of the campaign meaning promotion could still realistically be on.

The 2010's

As it's the end of the decade I thought I'd quickly look back at some of the highs and lows of the 2010's. It started badly with relegation in 2010 and 2011 wasn't much better either with a 15^th placed finish in League One. Milan Mandaric saving the club was the standout moment of that season for me. 2012 brought the sweetest of promotions from the third tier at the expense of Sheffield United. 2013 and 14 were both years of struggling to adapt to life in the Championship after promotion, some decent players and moments in that period as well before a year of consolidation in 2015. Going close in both 2016 and 2017 brings some wonderful memories, that 15/16 season was fantastic and although it didn't have the ending we all wanted I'll still look back on it with fond memories. 2018 and 2019 have been full of incident and a number of different stories. While there have been some positives there have also been some negatives, ultimately it's been a roller-coaster of a decade.

Along with this there have been discussions about team of the decade. For me it was a fairly simple selection of players based on what went on and when. Here is the team.

Effectively it's the Wembley team that started the Play Off Final but with Antonio coming in and Bannan moving into the middle. I really can't justify putting anyone else in, that is in my opinion the best selection of players we've had in that time based on form, consistency, impact and level. All these players baring Antonio have done well with Wednesday at the top end of the division. Antonio's 9 goals in 2012/13 kept us up. Without him we'd have been relegated.

So there we have it, January approaches. We'll have to see where we are and what we might have done come the end of the month.

Here's to a better 2020.

Thanks for reading

Tom

WAWAW

Sheffield Wednesday 2019/20: November Review

Well the Christmas decorations are starting to go up, the days and nights are getting colder. It must be December. Another month has gone by and it's been one filled with talking points both on and off the pitch. I'll touch upon the off the field matters towards the end. For now I'll focus on the off the field matters regarding Sheffield Wednesday.

The Matches

Blackburn Rovers

We started the month with a trip over the Pennines to face Blackburn, last season Blackburn away was the real low point for me. No direction, no leadership, got beaten convincingly. This time it was less bad but still not great. We fell well below the standard we'd seen against the likes of Leeds in the previous game. That isn't to say there weren't positives there were. We didn't play well but found ourselves with 7 minutes to go leading 1-0 and heading towards three points. Sadly we didn't hang on, 2 late Blackburn goals both fairly preventable saw Blackburn run out 2-1 winners. The first one is poor defending and Westwood came off his line which he didn't need to do. Concerning to say the least. The 2^nd one again isn't great defending, Julian Borner could have dealt with it better however I do have slight sympathy with him given that it does take a deflection and beats Westwood. Overall a disappointing start to November.

Swansea

Swansea were next on the agenda, after the Blackburn result it was fair to say a win was needed to boost the mood. Overall it was actually a decent performance, we were the better side despite falling 1-0 behind to an Andre Ayew goal that should never have come about after a mix up between Morgan Fox and Keiren Westwood. Wednesday responded late into the game after Fernando Forestieiri finished off a good move started by Adam Reach, both had come off the bench before Morgan Fox scored to make it 2-1 not long after. I have to say the celebrations for that goal were up there with some of the best of the last few years. Sadly a sting in the tail was to come as Swansea equalised late on to make it 2-2. Another late goal conceded, it was becoming an issue.

West Brom

After Swansea and an international break Wednesday travelled to face top of the league West Brom, I think for me West Brom look as good a side as the league has to offer. Again we went to one of the top sides and actually did ok. I'd have taken a point before the game and to be fair we probably did enough to earn one. They took the lead through Hal Robson-Kanu before Wednesday equalised through a penalty after a foul on Kieran Lee. Fletcher converting to end a goal drought for the Scotsman. Again however another late moment of madness cost us. Liam Palmer and Dominic Irofa didn't react quick enough to a ball over the top and Keiren Westwood rushing off his line collided with West Brom's Grady Diangana to give away a penalty. Charlie Austin stepped up and converted to give the Baggies the points. A frustrating day and result that raised a lot of questions around the goalkeeping situation.

Birmingham City

After the disappointing result at the Hawthorns we were back at Hillsborough for Birmingham City. The game was given added spice after Garry Monk's comments about former assistant Pep Clotet. Now this has raised a lot of discussion, some think Monk was unprofessional, something it was nothing more than stating his side of the story. I personally fall on the 2^nd side of those. At the end of the day, we don't know what went on. The only people who do are Monk and Clotet. It's one of those where both could feel they are correct. Clearly Monk wasn't treated with the 'class' that Birmingham claimed he lacked after sacking him over text which in my opinion is a disgraceful way to deal with that situation. A text? Come on, we aren't 15 year olds in the school yard are we? As for the game, it lacked a bit in quality. Wednesday were fairly dominant but the old habit of missing chances and not having enough up front was evident again. Birmingham took the lead early in the 2^nd half. After that Wednesday had a number of chances, Fernando Forestieiri making a difference as a 2^nd half sub. It was Kadeem Harris who in the end broke the Blues defence with a goal not long after an effort that I can only describe as 'Jermanine Johnson-esque'. What I will say though is to miss one like that and then have the character to try again moments later says a lot about Kadeem who had taken a bit of stick for not having much end product. He's been a great signing and I was pleased for him to get the goal. As for the team, the last 10 miniutes proved we can put the ball in the box with quality, we need to do that on a more consistent basis.

Charlton Athletic

A trip down to London to face recently takenover Charlton. The addicks had a number of injuries to content with ahead of the game. Who do they think they are, 17/18 Wednesday? In all seriousness it was a game we had to be looking at winning and win we did with goals from Fletcher and Nuhiu. Both started and I think both firmly justified it, one thing that has been proven over the years is Nuhiu can get open up space for others and we saw in the first half with Forestieri alongside them that playing two up front causes problems. It allowed the likes of Harris and Bannan to cause problems both out wide and in the middle. Fox got forward well and his role in the first goal hasn't been shouted about enough for me. Bannan another quality ball in for Fletcher to nod home. The 2^nd goal came from the penalty spot after Jacob Murphy, another who's taken stick from the fans did well to win it. Good work from Adam Reach to find Nuhiu late on to wrap it up. As for their goal, as frustrating as it was, their left back who had a brilliant first half did well and it did take a deflection. Could we do better? Yes, did it cost us? No. Overall a very pleasing early afternoon for Wednesday

Going forward

So where do we go from here? Well a busy December period gives us six games. Brentford at home followed by trips to Derby and Nottingham Forest before Bristol City at home, boxing day away at Stoke before Cardiff on the 29^th. Busy to say the least. We all know that on our day we can give anyone a game. It can't go unnoticed however that our eight wins have come against the sides that occupy the bottom eight positions in the Championship. An anomaly to an extent but it does kind of show where we are. I have no doubt we will pick up points against the better side, he could have got a point at West Brom, we should have beaten Swansea, we should have beaten Leeds. We all know we need to be more ruthless, taking our chances seems to be an issue we haven't been able to address. One way to change that might be to play two up front more often. Adthe Nuhiu and Steven Fletcher prior to this season hadn't spent much time on the pitch together. Often one would replace the other. But they've shown this season that they can link up well. I'd argue they deserve a run at it together if you aren't going to use the likes of Sam Winnall and Jordan Rhodes.

In terms of the defence I'm fairly content with that. I do think Tom Lees has made a difference being back in the side. I'm not saying Borner and Iorfa haven't done well because they clearly have but Lees has a number of games at this level. Borner is clearly a talented defender but he's played 16 games in the Championship, Iorfa will have only played so many as a centre back. Lees' experience as well as quality will be needed. Goalkeeping has been a debate for a while. For me it's Dawson's shirt to loose, he's had the better start to the season and I feel had he have made the errors Westwood has this season he'd be getting loads of stick. Monk stated he'd play players based on form, on that basis I see no reason to drop Dawson when Westwood is fit again.

Off the pitch

This could be a long segment really. To be honest as someone who likes to take in as much media about Wednesday as possible the last few weeks have been filled with negative stories along with the usual rumours that they create. The club had obviously been charged with in relation to selling the ground to another company that is also owned by Chansiri. The club have at the time of writing responded with a claim that the charge was unjust and that the EFL have acted unlawfully.

My personal take on this has kind of altered as the days have gone on really, I don't think anyone was too surprised this charge came, whatever you think of the EFL or the club there has clearly been something brewing. However Wednesday have every right to defend themselves and if they feel they have a strong enough case for their defence should have every right to fight the charge. Chansiri has also been charged and according to the Telegraph newspaper could face a “Ban from football” whatever that means along with John Redgate and Katrien Meire. Again no knowledge either way if they are worthy charges or not. We as fans can only see what happens, we don't have any influence over it either way.

Whatever you think of Chansiri he has put his money in, he has tried to do his best. He's made mistakes and I think we're mostly paying now for the lack of a back up plan in 2017 after losing in the Play Offs to Huddersfield. The idea that always seems to rear it's head whenever anything negative is put out in the media is that he should 'go'. Well OK but who comes in and for what price? It's not as simple as a manager or player leaving. This is the owner of the football club, he's the one paying the bills, he's the one who's putting the money up. It's worrying how quick some fans want to chuck themselves at someone else. Red Bull has been mentioned, that sends a shiver down my spine personally. People were outraged (correctly) when Chansiri removed the stripes for two seasons, imagine playing in a completely different colour and effectively being a feeder club for others. No thanks.

The last point I want to make is as much as it might be a risk to take on the EFL, I do feel a little bit like they've had it coming. They aren't fit for purpose. We lost a wonderful historic club in Bury, we nearly lost another In Bolton. Macclesfield are in trouble, Coventry are playing their home games 22 miles away in Birmingham. We've had less than desirable people in charge of clubs before. All this under the EFL's stewardship. I'm not saying they have to be 100% perfect but they don't seem to have a grasp of the proper issues within their own competitions and are more bothered about punishing a club that while admittedly reliant on a single individual is at least paying the bills. Not at deaths door, the EFL need to take a look at themselves and their own rules. Clubs like Derby, Wednesday and others aren't the problem.

This is before we get into parachute payments which we could do a whole blog about, maybe I will soon.

Thanks for reading

Tom

WAWAW

My Thoughts On VAR

So, we've reached that point here on Denied By The Flag where we're going to have to touch on a controversial topic. Yep that's right we're going to have to talk about VAR...yay.

Now there are a couple of reasons why I've held my tongue, at least on here, about the controversial introduction of Video Assistant Referees to football. The first being that I don't support a club that plays in a league that it operates in, that in itself is something I'll touch upon. Also I think given the amount of different things that come under VAR's watchful eye it was only fair to take a step back and allow it time to try and get things right. Unfortunately that hasn't happened.

So what is wrong with it?

Now I'll start off by saying that I was initially in favour of introducing video technology to football. I still am to be fair to an extent, we all want correct decisions don't we? I think that's a given. However at what cost? Do we want correct decisions to the exact point that takes away from the flow of the game? No I don't think we do. That is where VAR for me falls down. Take Saturday's game at the New White Hart Lane, Sheffield United were denied a goal which by the letter of the law was correct but it took four minutes to decide this. It was a adjudged that United midfielder John Lundstram was offside when his cross went into the box that then lead to David McGoldrick slotting home. As a football fan that wants the best for the game that goal should stand. If you need four minutes to decide if someone is offside or not then the goal should be given. CLEAR AND OBVIOUS mistakes, that is what VAR was brought into football for. I appreciate that the clear and obvious phrase doesn't come into offside decisions but isn't that part of the problem? Yes there is a it is or it isn't factor but it still isn't what the system was brought in for. Tight calls have always been in football, it's an attacking game the aim is to attack the oppositions defence. You're going to get tights calls.

Another issue is timing generally, if you're having to stop the game 5 or 6 times in a 90 minute period that's going to do several things, one, it stops the flow of the game making it much more frustrating to watch. The great thing about football for me is that it was a quick game that was enjoyable to watch. The reason I could never enjoy something like Rugby was that it was too stop/start and ultimately not as enjoyable to watch. VAR stops that. Also from a fitness point of view if you're having to stop the game for a few minutes to check decisions surely there is a high risk of muscle injuries? I'm no expert but the idea of stopping and having to restart 4/5 minutes after doesn't sound ideal for quick athletes trying to avoid hamstring/groin/calf injuries.

Handball is another big issue, in the summer the rule was changed so that any goal that has been scored where the ball has touched any part of an attacking player's hand be it accidental or not will be ruled out. Now in theory that's fair enough only in the reality of football that's nonsense really. Even if you go with that rule why is it not the same for a defender? Why can a ball strike the arm of a defender and it not automatically be a penalty? How is an attacking player touching it accidentally worse than a defending player doing it? Take Sunday's game with Liverpool and Man City. Trent Alexander-Arnold clearly handballed it, whether you think he did it deliberately or not is largely irrelevant, my personal view is he did know what he was doing, his arm was still in an unnatural position. Yet rewind all the way back to the start of the season how can you rule out Wolves' goal at Leicester where the ball hit Willy Bolly on the back of the arm? He isn't even looking at it. The rule is broken and doesn't work. It was brought in to make it easier for VAR, surely VAR should have come in and worked with the rules that were already there in place? It's once again not using common sense.

As for the officials that are operating VAR, it's another worry that these are the same officials that were making blatant errors on the pitch. We have the likes of Neil Swabrick telling us how we're getting more decisions right than ever before yet failing to address the fact the Premier League have said there have been mistakes. Why have we have pitch side monitors which we all saw were a success at the 2018 World Cup yet we haven't used them? What is the point of the on field referee? You've got VAR calling the play back and reviewing it for incidents, surely it has to be the on field officials say? Help him yes but don't take over. This leads to another point, why call it VAR? Surely the VT for Video Technology or the OS for Officiating Screen would be better or at least more in tune with what it was supposed to be brought in to do?

Another big issue with VAR is that it's taking away from celebrating goals, that fans now aren't celebrating goals properly as they know it'll be checked by VAR, a defence of this has often been “well you can celebrate them twice then”, this in my opinion is the biggest load of nonsense I've ever heard. The euphoric feeling of your team scoring can't be split up and taken separately. The idea you'd celebrate confirmation of a goal being given as much as the actual moment is ridiculous. Again, it's another example of the theory behind VAR being fine but in reality it doesn't work. Also if a goal is ruled off after a few minutes of deliberation that also feel like you've been cheated and this is something I can talk about. Cast your mind back to May 2016, Friday 13^th Sheffield Wednesday V Brighton in the first leg of the Championship Play Off Semi Final. Wednesday score what looks at first glance to be a fairly legitimate goal through Fernando Forestieri and Hillsborough erupted. Never have I ever seen anything quite like it. It was glorious and as the players rush off to celebrate the replay is flashed up on the big screen where the linesman spots the that Gary Hooper might not have touched the ball thus making Fernando Forestieri offside thus the goal was ruled out. Now if you watch it back it's hard to tell now 3&1/2 years later thus it doesn't in my opinion fall into the clear and obvious section for me but the point I'm making is the decision was made off a replay and the goal was ruled off. Nothing was communicated to us in the stands obviously and like I said before, you feel cheated when something like that happens.

What should happen from here?

So what should happen from this point on? For me VAR in it's current guise doesn't work, it's proving to be more inconsistent than the referees were before. It doesn't take into account all the little nuances that come with football. We're now ruling goals off for kneecaps and a armpits being offside and that feels wrong. It doesn't feel like we've taken a step forward but a major one backwards. Football at the top level is being ruined by VAR not improved. I'm not saying the technology should be scrapped completely but in it's current format it doesn't work. It's fine to say well more decisions are right now than ever before, but what have we lost in doing that? It's all very well having a good ratio of correct decisions but if people aren't interested in what is going on, what is the point?

Again I'll make the point, I was thoroughly for VAR being introduced, I feel glad at least it's been tried but I was wrong and the people who said it wouldn't work were correct. Obviously they can't remove it from the Premier League at the moment as the integrity of the competition would come into question but they need to start letting the referees use the monitors, they need to be consistent on what they deem a foul/offside etc. In the summer I would get rid of it, as much as the referees need help and aren't up to the task I would rather human error than this. At least that feels natural, this doesn't.

So there we go, my thoughts on the controversial VAR. I can't see it going anywhere, too much has been invested in it and as we all know in football money seems to talk.

Thanks for reading

Tom