Sheffield Wednesday 2018/19: March Review

So here we are, the clocks have gone forward, Easter is on the horizon. The last International break(that will interrupt the season at least) has been and gone. It's now April and the run in is here. Lets take a look back at March for the Owls.

The Games

 

 

Sheffield United

 

We started the month with a nice friendly game against our friends from Sheffield 2...…, sorry we started the month with the nerve jangling, sleep depriving, feeling sick fest that is the Steel City Debry. While I hated the build up as always I actually really enjoyed the pre match atmosphere. The evening kick off made it a bit more atmospheric. As for the game while it lacked quality there were positives in it. Another valuable clean sheet for us, Aarons' pace caused problems for them and while we didn't create a load of chances the best one of the night did fall out way. Sam Hutchinson certainly would have been a very popular goalscorer. Overall the 2nd 0-0 between Wednesday and United of the season and third since their return to the Championship was a fair result. They had the best chance of the first half and didn't take it. We had the best chance of the 2nd and didn't take it. They settled for the point with their subs, we didn't quite have enough about us to win it. Fair result. There was obviously a lot of talk about the incident in which a Wednesday fan threw a bottle at Jack O'Connell and obviously it goes without saying that person is an idiot.

 

Derby County

 

Following the point against United we made the trip to Derby, it was a fair assumption that if we were to keep up the fight for the play offs we needed something from the trip to Pride Park, a ground in which we'd not won at since 2006. Overall we could well have won it with a decent performance. Bradley Johnson got his usual goal against Wednesday but big Dominic Iorfa equalised to give Wednesday a well deserved point. Sam Winnall's disallowed goal was a talking point and having seen it back a number of times I have to say I think the officials got it right. Winnall's return was a boost and gave us another option after Forestieri's half time substitution in the derby.

 

 

Bolton Wanderers

 

After Derby it was a trip to struggling Bolton. Bolton needed the points just as much as we did to keep their survival hopes alive. From out point of view the first 40 minutes were quite tepid. We didn't really keep the ball well enough and couldn't get into any proper rhythm. That said we were playing in tough conditions with the wind blowing strongly and as many crisp packets and sweet wrappers being blown onto the pitch as players. Steven Fletcher gave Wednesday the lead just before the break with a lovely dinked finish from Barry Bannan's pass. After that Rolando Aarons made it 2-0 not long after half time with his first goal for Wednesday. His growing popularity with the Owls fans was given another boost with that goal. Overall it was a pleasing result and if we do want to make the Play Offs those are the kinds of games that you need to win, not many will remember it as a classic but an important three points none the less.

 

Blackburn Rovers

 

After that win at Bolton the confidence was high around Hillsborough that we'd be able to back it up against Blackburn. I have to say that to have that bounce and belief around the club again in such a short space of time is great to see. Some cynics might put it down to the fickle nature of football fans but I genuinely think it down to the fact people believe in the manager and his ideology. This game was another example of the job Bruce and his coaching team have done. We took the lead again through in form Steven Fletcher not long after Sam Hutchinson had limped off injured. Not a bad way for Fletcher to celebrate his 100th appearance for Wednesday. Adthe Nuhiu scored a header to make it 2-0 after replacing Fletcher in the 2nd half. Blackburn to their credit played some decent football and were back in it when Craig Conway scored on 72. Dominic Iorfa again though proved to be a threat from a set piece making it 3-1 with a header before Marco Matias rounded off the afternoon with a fantastic pass from Nuhiu that he struck at Rovers' Keeper David Raya who fumbled it into his own net. They did pull one back but it was too little to late and Wednesday claimed the points. Again like Bolton, the conditions were tough, it was chucking it down at Hillsborough. They played some decent stuff and on another day it could have been a different result but too lose all your subs after just 56 minutes and win the game quite convincingly is to be applauded.

 

Stoke City

 

The final game of the month saw us travel to play Stoke City. Stoke have struggled this season but despite that they still have a very talented bunch of players there. The likes of Allen, Butland, Martins Indi, Shawcross are all top players and it was a game that worried me. Not in terms of thinking that we'd get thrashed but that of the games we have left a lot of fans were talking about this one as a banker of a win. A 0-0 draw sort of implies it was harder than people gave it credit for. Away from the result, It was fantastic to see Gary Hooper back on a team sheet for Sheffield Wednesday. It's been no secret that injuries have played a massive part in the fortunes of the club over the last 18 months or so, so to get such a key player back for the end of the season is a huge boost. Whether he will be here next season or not isn't clear but it'll be nice to see what he can do in the last month or so of the season. Hooper did play a part in the big talking point of the game which was George Boyd's disallowed goal. From watching it back I have to say I think the linesman maybe just got it right but even so a frustrating moment for Boyd who's taken quite a bit of stick recently. In fairness to him it's never easy to come in at the last minute like he did at Stoke when Rolando Aarons was injured in the warm up and he did OK. It wasn't vintage Wednesday from anyone.

 

So where does this leave us?

 

From my point of view, I'll keep saying what I said when Bruce came in. This is a long term project. I have full confidence in Bruce to keep improving us week by week. As for the play off push, I do think that last weekend was a key day in that race. Us dropping points and us winning does make it tough, having said that we still have to play a number of the teams in the race. Villa, Forest and Preston as well as Bristol City who in my opinion will finish in there anyway. It's still there, for me I'd just say enjoy the ride. Last time we were in the play offs the pressure was on us. If we somehow got in there we'd be playing with little pressure so from that point of view there is little to be too nervous about.

 

Some big games coming up, points to be won and lost all over the division. Hopefully whatever happens it can be a positive April.

 

Thanks for reading

 

Tom

 

WAWAW



Football Fans Conduct: Are we heading back to the bad old days?

I'll be honest, I didn't plan to write another blog until the end of the month. But the actions of some football 'fans' over the weekend have prompted me to write this. It won't be a greatly insightful piece I wouldn't imagine. More the ramblings of someone who isn't thick enough to run onto a football pitch.

The incident that has really prompted it is of course a Birmingham City fan running onto the pitch in Sunday's 2nd City Derby and assaulting Aston Villa's captain Jack Grealish. Now the first thing to say is that it was a shocking a horrible thing to see happen. It was the 2nd of three high profile incidents last weekend. Firstly a Hibernian fan confronting Rangers captain James Tavernier and an Arsenal fan running onto the pitch in Arsenal's 2-0 win over Manchester United and pushing Chris Smalling. Now we do see from time to time an idiot here and there run onto the pitch. That in itself while bad is nothing new. These incidents though seem to be slightly different. The Grealish one in particular for me stands out as a really bad sign. For starters the reaction to it, some (I must stress that word) Birmingham fans applauding off the moron who has been jailed and banned from all grounds for ten years. Now this isn't a criticism of Birmingham fans I'm sure most were disgusted by the actions of the moron but lets not pretend the applauding didn't happen or that there weren't songs about it going round afterwards. I have to say at this point Grealish's reaction was fantastic and he's conducted himself very well during and since the incident and he deserved to score the winner. My biggest concern about it is that many similar minded idiots from all around the country will see that and think "Oh well I fancy a bit of that" and we could well see other incidents blighting football. Another thing that I found odd was the cries of "We've never seen anything like this before". Let's rewind back to October 19th 2012. Sheffield Wednesday V Leeds United live on Sky. Chris Kirkland the then Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper was assaulted on the pitch by an invading Leeds United supporter after an equaliser. It was a shocking act to see and the reaction was similar although I do feel this incident with Grealish has got more coverage, why that is I don't know. Maybe it's just the speed of social media now being quicker than ever that it feels that way. I remember saying then that more needed to be done to stop people who want to do such stupid things. That season also saw crowd trouble between Millwall fans in the FA Cup semi final with a lot of people calling for points deductions and fines to try and stop these incidents.

For me I don't know how much a points deduction would realistically do, do these idiots who go to football matches to cause trouble really have the best interests of the club at heart? I don't know if they do to be honest. Lets say Wednesday got a points deduction for the idiot who threw the bottle at Jack O'Connell last Monday. Is that fair of the players, the Chairman or Steve Bruce? No I don't think it is. Bringing it back to Birmingham, would it be fair on the rest of the fans and the players and management at St Andrews if the were docked points for the moron who attacked Grealish? To me no but at the same time it's hard to think of many other possible punishments. Would a fine really do that much? OK maybe in the case of Birmingham who already face a possible points deduction for breaching FFP rules in the summer, it might have more impact at a club like that who need to watch the pennies but an Arsenal, are they going to do more to stop people running on the pitch if they got a fine? I'm not so sure.

Again I must stress this isn't me calling out Birmingham or Arsenal or Hibs for not controlling their fans. It's a football problem on the whole. It's also a society issue, is the uncertain future of the country having an impact on how people behave? In my opinion yes. Politics is something I tend to avoid talking too much about because you'll never find a discussion that doesn't end in arguments and people generally being daft but lets be honest. The country is a bit of a mess at the moment and peoples' behaviour is reflective of that. Football should be a fun and safe hobby for supporters but at the moment we're staring down the barrel of hooliganism becoming a massive issue like it was years ago. For me I'd rather we didn't see a return to those days, I'm sure 99% of people agree. We all enjoy the banter football rivalry can bring, we all I'm sure have a good laugh when rivals lose or don't achieve. We all have to take it on the chin when it doesn't go our way. What we shouldn't have to put up with is morons who want to spoil the game for the rest of us.

Thanks for reading,

Tom

Steel City Derby Preview: Will It Be A Manic Monday or A Magic Monday?

So here we are again, the nerves that have been in the background over the last few weeks have suddenly intensified, Twitter is awash with banter from both sides, ticket debates rumbling on, The Sheffield Star has about 50 articles a day about it. Yep, it's Derby week.

I've said before in these posts that I hate them, I hate the build up, I hate the nerves, I have very rarely enjoyed the actual football that takes place (even wins). I don't believe people who say they don't get nervous for this game on both sides of it. Wednesday's season has lets be honest been a bit rubbish but since the arrival of Steve Bruce and a recent upturn in form. It sets up for what could be a fantastic game of football on Monday night.

Sheffield United

OK, lets get the horrible bit out of the way first, Sheffield United come into this game ahead of the weekend's results 2nd in the Championship and it's hard to argue that they don't deserve to be there (though I'll have a damn good go). Any team who is 2nd in the division with 12 games to play has earned that right. While I don't think they are quite as good as the league position suggests it would be stupid to deny they've had an excellent season. They have a quite unique brand of football which does catch they eye. The most impressive thing I find with them is the way they deal with setbacks. This all goes back to the summer, the fact that the two co owners are in a legal battle over who will take full control of the club should and would at most other clubs have caused major issues but Wilder to his credit has not allowed that to be a distraction to his team and his supporters. It's fair to say over the years United haven't had a lot of patience with managers and with Kevin McCabe over certain things but at the moment you don't hear anything about him. Everyone there is pulling in the same direction something that until the last few weeks wasn't the case at S6.

 

In terms of how United will line up at Hillsborough it's hard not to see them reverting to type having had to make changes in recent weeks. The usual 352 formation with the overlapping centre backs will no doubt feature. Recently they have had to make changes due to injury but the likes of Jack O'Connell should be fit to play. It would be a surprise if Billy Sharp, United's leading marksman this season didn't start. Often this season he's started alongside former Owls loanee David McGoldrick. Both getting decent numbers this season. There is the possibility that another former Owl Gary Madine could start the game. Madine of course has scored in this fixture in the 2-2 draw back in October 2011. If I had to put money on it, I very much doubt Madine will start the game. I think Wilder would probably use him off the bench if need be. The midfield engine of Norwood, for me United's best player, Fleck and either Mark Duffy or Kieran Dowell will be key. If they turn up it's fair to say Wednesday will have to work hard to stop them. If they do drop a level though that could cost them dearly.

 

Right, enough of those Red and White so and so's. Onto the important part.

 

How do Wednesday Win This Game?

Steve Bruce will take to the touchline at Hillsborough for his first Sheffield Derby

A few weeks ago, I'd have probably called this section. How Can Wednesday Win this Game. However recent results have allowed Wednesday fans to think a little more optimistically. A Derby game does always throw up different things to the norm. Even if we'd lost seven in a row we'd still have a chance. Now it's actually a very good chance to win this game and not only keep our own slender (I do mean that) play off hopes alive but to take points of United in their battle to reach the Premier League.

 

As for on the pitch matters, Wednesday have reverted to a faster, high pressing brand of football in recent weeks. Chances are being created, the fact we've scored five goals in the last two games and maybe were disappointed to not have more shows how those games have gone. The other big change since the departure of Jos Luhukay is the clean sheets. 9 in 15 since the Dutchman left Hillsborough. That new found confidence in the defence makes the job of those further forward much easier. The other aspect of Wednesday's game which is pleasing the fans and is arguably more important than the other stuff is the fact we do the simple things well. When the ball needs to be cleared it gets cleared, when teams run at us we don't look scared to put in a tackle to stop them. We can keep hold of it in the midfield which we weren't doing so well in the first half of the season. A big issue we had at Bramall Lane is that whenever the ball did get cleared it came straight back. That shouldn't be the case this time if we turn up and carry on the form of the last few games.

 

Key men



Steven Fletcher in action against Millwall

The first key man for Wednesday will be striker Steven Fletcher, the last few weeks Fletcher's performances have been outstanding. He's lead the line fantastically well and has scored some fantastic goals. I have been one of his biggest critics since he arrived but if he continues this kind of form going forward he will be a real asset. He has big game experience as well which combined with his ability to move defenders around makes him a big threat against United. Last season he never really got into the game and United will be no doubt looking to do a similar job on him.

 

 

Barry Bannan will always for me be a massive threat to any team in this division. A great range of passing, he can potentially be the one who can unlock United's defence with a fantastic pass. Take some of the goal the other night against Brentford. Spotting Fletcher who he's linked up well with throughout their time at S6 and putting the perfect pass through for Fletcher to finish.

 

 

Fernando Forestieri will get his first taste of the Steel City Derby if he plays on Monday. A player who for me can win the game on his own. Bags of ability, even in a quiet game for him against Brentford he had an impact. It's the little things, the touches, the fake passes and shots. The burst of pace. If he's on that pitch on Monday, we have a chance.

 

Others of course will be under the spotlight, Rolando Aarons' performances have been good, several people have said they feel he can thrive on the derby atmosphere. Adam Reach of course will be hoping to add to his goal tally this season after netting twice against Swansea. Sam Hutchinson in the middle of the pitch in the form he's in is made for a game like this. Keiren Westwood between the sticks will be wanting to add a derby clean sheet to his collection and the likes of Lucas Joao if fit enough to play will have an impact.



Monday's referee Peter Bankes

 

Another factor to take into account is the man in the middle. No not Bannan or Hutchinson I'm on about Peter Bankes, the man given the responsibility of refereeing this game. Now please don't take what I'm about to say as anything other than a genuine opinion. It isn't me getting an excuse in early or slating a ref for the sake of it. I genuinely think Peter Bankes is one of the worst referees I have ever seen. He has several bad qualities, he lose control of games to easily, most games I have seen him referee in have had at least one confrontation between players, that to me says the players don't respect him. He also is inconsistent, pulling up for everything one minute then allowing everything the next. We actually benefited in the first half against Wigan in my opinion on his last trip to Hillsborough but that doesn't make it OK. I don't how he's got given such a big game. He shouldn't be refereeing professional football, he's woefully bad and as much as we'd all take a dodgy penalty win it would still take away from the win if it was decided by a poor decision. I've always said that I'd rather talk about tactics and good play than bad officiating. I don't think I'm alone in that view.

 

Another point that needs making is I think Wednesday have to use the crowd on Monday, it will be an electric atmosphere no doubt and that can be a massive advantage to Wednesday. Even though there will be more blades fans there this time than last year if Wednesday start well and get the crowd going not many teams can cope with that atmosphere. We've seen it before, Brighton, Newcastle, Cardiff, Arsenal have all faulted in recent years when the crowd gets going. Make it intimidating, make it hard for United's players. If they make a mistake, get on it, make them know they're in a game. That's the most unique thing about a derby for me, the vociferous nature of the crowd in reaction to normal everyday things you see.

 

Prediction

I'll start this part by saying that I don't believe you can ever be 100% confidant when trying to call a derby. So many different things will come into it. If both teams turn up it could be a cracking game. United are the favourites, while form does go out of the window. They are challenging for automatic promotion, they've been up there all year while we've struggled. They are favourites as much as some of their fans seem to want to play it down the pressure is on them. Not to say there isn't pressure on Wednesday but there will be less scrutiny on us. If we lose then I think most neutrals would say it was expected and focus more on the performance. From a fans point of view I think most sensible fans would say a draw would be a decent result but we actually have a very good chance of winning it. For me if Wednesday score first and keep the crowd on side then regardless of how good United are I think we would hold on. If United score first it would maybe play more into their hands. I'll say an optimistic 3-2 win for Wednesday. A thriller under the lights at Hillsborough.

 

 

Whatever the result, lets hope the game passes with as little incident away from the pitch as possible and Sheffield as a city does itself proud.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Tom

 

WAWAW

Sheffield Wednesday 2018/19: February Review

So once again we've reached the end of the month and once again there's quite a bit to talk about regarding Wednesday.

The Matches

 

Ipswich Town
 

Steve Bruce's first game in charge of Wednesday was a trip down to face struggling Ipswich Town, the Tractor boys have had an awful season and in fairness Bruce probably couldn't have picked a better game to make his bow as Owls boss. Wednesday played well, creating a lot but without that cutting edge. Overall the 1-0 scoreline probably flattered Ipswich more than Wednesday. It was Lucas Joao who got the goal from a superb run from Adam Reach. Reach himself had missed a great chance earlier in the game as well as Fernando Forestieri but the key was the fact we'd won when a few weeks before we'd have probably lost it. We'd created plenty and it was clear the team had that energy you often see from a change in management. Overall a pleasing start to the Steve Bruce era.

 

 

Reading

 

Steve Bruce's first home game in charge of Wednesday was a visit from another side struggling at the bottom of the division in Reading. First of all I have to say I thought the reception he got when he came out of the tunnel was very pleasing, it showed a togetherness and a backing of a manager that hasn't been at S6 for a while. As for the game, the first half was very good. Wednesday created a lot and had it not been for former Owls loanee Emiliano Martinez it could have been 3 or 4 very easily. Reading looked like a team that would concede a few if the first one went in but credit to them they defended well and in the end got a point. It was frustrating but given some of the games we've had this season I'd rather create and not quite score than create next to nothing. Four points from a possible six was a decent start for Bruce.

 

 

Millwall
 

Millwall away on Tuesday night never exactly fills you with much excitement. I say that firmly accepting I have never been or intend to go to Millwall. I was one of those people who watched it on the red button. The first half was drab, it was quite simply a really boring half of football. Millwall edged it and probably should have scored, Wednesday started the 2nd half quite well. We started to run at Millwall and try to force an error. Sadly the goal didn't quite come and 0-0 was probably fair. It was a night where the critics were out in full force but it's worth noting that again a few weeks before we'd have lost it. On another night a chance might fall for us. There had been quite a bit of talk about possibly catching the play offs before Reading and Millwall but that appeared to be off the agenda after the results of these two games.

 

Rotherham United

 

Next up was a trip to local Rivals Rotherham United, it's always interesting when Wednesday play Rotherham. Something always seems to happen. Rotherham, another side struggling at the wrong end of the division needed points and Wednesday needed to respond after the two 0-0 draws. Bruce had got under the Rotherham fans skin earlier in the week with his pre match comments that it was their cup final. While I can kind of see why this would annoy some people he isn't exactly wrong is he? This game always sells out, this game's hospitality section at the New York Stadium actually sold out on the day the fixtures came out. It's fair to say it's the only one that did. Onto the football, Rotherham were the better side and deserved to win the game based on the chances they had. Although Wednesday started better and took the lead through Fernando Forestieri we surrendered it quickly after Jon Taylor equalised for Rotherham. The Millers then took the lead through Irishman Richie Towell, a goal not too dissimilar to the one he scored at Hillsborough. Wednesday equalised right at the death after debutant Dominic Iorfa, who'd had to be patient in getting an opportunity took it when Jordan Thorniley had to be replaced after a horrible clash that left him needing treatment. Iorfa scored the goal to make it 2-2 with what appeared to be his third touch. Not quite Lloyd Owusu all those years ago or more appropriately Kieran Lee in 2015 but scenes none the less in the away end. After that the real controversy happened, Fernando Forestieri sent off for..well I still don't know. Initially on the radio they said he'd gone into the crowd, at the time I thought fair enough. You can't do that so by the letter of the law it's a red but there is no evidence he did. I've heard about 15 different accounts and they all say something different. From the footage available it's hard to see what he's received his 2nd yellow card for. Overall it was a day to forget for referee Darren England who fail to send Michael Ihiekwe for a horrendous tackle of Forestieri. For Wednesday it was a point gained given the performance.

 

 

Swansea City

 

We went into the game at home to Swansea with a lot of people possibly thinking about next season more than this one. Swansea themselves marooned in mid table were the opponents and it was seen as a bit of a 'dead rubber'. After the disappointing display at Rotherham it was important I felt that a response was given and we got. A first half where Wednesday dominated and were 3-0 up at half time after two goals from Adam Reach who ended his own personal drought and an overhead kick from Steven Fletcher who kept up his own person 'How can I outdo the last goal I scored' competition. What I mean by that is if you look at Fletcher's goals this season a lot of them are goals you wouldn't expect him to score, Birmingham at home, Wigan at home, this one against Swansea. All very low percentage shots of actually going in, it's a good trait to have. After that Wednesday probably could be accused of sitting off Swansea a bit, they've got some good players and had a bad day at the office but the pleasing thing from a Wednesday point of view is we punished them for it. Quite a few teams have come here and played poorly but we've not punished many of them. Even in some of the wins we've been hanging on. To effectively have the game wrapped up at half time was pleasing. It was great to see the likes of Rolando Aarons on his first start and Achraf Lazaar on debut have such a good impact. It's been a long time since someone had as good a debut as Lazaar. A good day at the office.

 

Brentford

 

A 2nd of three consecutive home games saw Brentford visit Hillsborough. Brentford were in good form and with Wednesday winning it made for an interesting game. If Swansea was the best performance of the season, this maybe topped it. Mostly for me for the feeling of, we're not going to lose this from about 10 seconds in. The kicked off and Sam Hutchinson immediately won the ball. We played really well and deserved to take the lead through Steven Fletcher. A lead doubled by Fletcher in the 2nd half after Adam Reach should have scored himself. Brentford did have their chances but they were few and far between. They weren't helped by losing South African midfielder Kamohelo Mokotjo to injury in the warm up. A similar situation with what happened to Wednesday at Griffin Park when Adam Reach was injured in the warm up down there. Overall it was a really comfortable, professional display and it was pleasing to have so many players to praise. Tom Lees, Sam Hutchinson, Steven Fletcher, Liam Palmer and Adam Reach all came out with great plaudits. The only downside really was an injury to Achraf Lazaar in the first half. Liam Palmer did very well to step in to that position while Dominic Iorfa again came off the bench to play at right back. It seems we still can't shake the injury luck off at the moment. Steve Bruce said something interesting in his post match interview which I really agreed with. He spoke about the fans enjoying watching the team again and I really had. Even the Reading game there were plenty of things to be pleased with. It's been fun watching the team again after a difficult few months.

 

Off the pitch

During the month we saw the departure of CEO Katrien Meire, there has been a lot of debate and conversation on social media since she arrived January 2018 over he role and whether she was 'doing a good job'. For me the job role was misleading. She was a more a head of the commercial department. Which over the last twelve months has improved considerably. Everyone who's spoken to her has said she was a very competent, intelligent person who was doing a good job. I was surprised to see her go and while the reasons for her departure remain unknown it's tough to give a proper opinion on it and unfair to speculate. What I will say is the amount of "Thank god for that she ruined the club" and "I'm glad she's f*cking gone". Tweets I saw from people who claim to be Wednesday supporters was weird and disappointing. I very much doubt any of those people actually did any research into her role and just read what a few Charlton fans may have said. On that, with all due respect to Charlton fans the situation there and the situation here are completely different and you can't really compare the two.

 

Onto the future and it has the feel at the moment that Steve Bruce is making a lot of the decisions. Effectively we've gone back to the old school manager approach which a lot of fans wanted. Bruce making the decisions over who comes in and goes out is important and significant. Over the last few years the recruitment policy has been talked about a hell of a lot and all without knowing who really had the final say. Now it's in the hands of the experienced Bruce is surely the wisest and safest move.

 

That's about it for this month, my next blog will be a preview of Monday night's Steel City Derby.

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Tom

 

WAWAW

 



Sheffield Wednesday 2018/19: January Review

Well another month has past and once again it's been an eventful one. Sheffield Wednesday have in the past month had a 2nd caretaker and appointed a permanent manager. Never dull eh?

 

 

Steve Bruce

 

I'll start with arguably the most important moment of the month, Steve Bruce's appointment. Bruce, a four time promotion winner from this division has the CV, the experience and the desire to do the job here at Sheffield Wednesday. I mentioned in a previous blog that there was no perfect person for the job and I believe that. Steve Bruce does however tick a lot of the boxes people were demanding following the departure of Jos Luhukay. British, proven track record, knew the division, could handle full control of the transfers. He's got all that, he's been a manager for 21 years and I genuinely don't think you stay in the game that long if you don't have a lot about you. At Villa the perception is he had a load of money and failed. I'll hold my hands up that I was one naive enough to believe that without looking into it and in truth he didn't spend as much as people make out, he also didn't really fail, did he? OK they didn't go up but as with Wednesday in 2016, you need your players to turn up on the day and Villa despite the Snodgrass' and Terry's didn't. Enough of that, Wednesday took a lot of flack for Bruce' delayed start and my opinion in it is this, as long as Steve Bruce and Dejphon Chansiri were happy with that then nothing else matters. For me Wednesday allowing Bruce that time to honor his word to his family shows a rare value in football. We bang on about being a family and use the phrase WAWAW a lot, isn't that a good example of that? I wish Steve all the best in the job and I genuinely thing that given the right tools he can achieve the long term goal of promotion. It might not be next season, it might not be the year after that but we stand a much better chance with him in charge.

 

 

The Matches

 

Birmingham City

 

After all that we actually have some football to talk about. Birmingham City were the first opponents of the New Year and was to be Lee Bullen's final game in charge. It was widely reported Steve Bruce would be announced after the game. It was a decent performance, we took the lead through a decent finish from Steven Fletcher who seems to have made a habit of scoring goals from difficult positions. Wednesday created an awful lot and the experienced Lee Camp made two contenders for save of the season. and bar the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half were dominant. That 10 minutes however allowed ex blade Che Adams to nip in and equalise for the Blues. It wasn't the worst point in the world. Birmingham are having a decent season and have found some stability after a couple of very odd years. Garry Monk has done the best with what he's got, fair play to them. For Wednesday's caretaker Bullen it was two wins and two draws from his four games in charge. Something I'd have taken before hand.

 

 

Luton Town

 

Following the New Year football was the return of the greatest cup competition in the world. I know some people have lost their love of cup football but I still enjoy the FA Cup. It gives you a chance to dream and although in my lifetime it hasn't been very kind to Wednesday when you start out in it you never know. Wednesday were tasked with facing inform Luton from League One. First of all a comment on the atmosphere, I put at tweet out after the game praising the Luton fans as for start it's not exactly local and to bring over 4000 fans for a 12:30 Kick off that let's be honest didn't exactly catch everyone's imagination on both sides that is some effort. Add to that they did make some decent noise I'd say that deserves some recognition. As for our own atmosphere it doesn't help when one stand is closed, it was a big contrast to the Birmingham game where the atmosphere was very good. Of course the game didn't help, it was a tough watch. A 0-0 that could and should have been won in the first few minutes from a header by Steven Fletcher. An easier chance than the one he scored a few days before. Credit to Luton who defended very well against a strong Wednesday team and it was probably a fair result. It was the first chance for Steve Agnew and Stephen Clemence who had arrived in preparation for Steve Bruce to see the players in action under their instruction and while it was a dull game you could see little things that were different.

 

Hull City

 

After the Cup it was back to the Championship and a trip to the form team in the country in Hull City. The Tigers had been a terrific run of 9 unbeaten in League and Cup and going from the bottom three to the top half. While Wednesday were on a decent run it was always going to be a hard ask. That isn't to excuse the performance, we were 2nd best in every department and Hull City strolled to a 3-0. They, like Birmingham are an example though that time and patience are needed to get success in this division. Both like Wednesday have issues off the field to deal with but those two sides have found consistency in results. As for the game, while not being their myself and listening to it on the radio it sounded very reminiscent of some of the performances of the previous ear and the highlights showed just that. Going back to a point I made in the previous blog, it isn't just the manager and coaches, players have to take responsibility for themselves as well. This group needs freshening up in the summer and days like this show that.

 

Luton Town

 

So the replay against Luton Town, this time we knew what was on the line. A trip to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. It was also a big chance to bounce back from the defeat at Hull with a moral boosting win. Again Wednesday went strong looking to make sure the tie was settled. It was won with a 2nd half goal from Atdhe Nuhiu and although it wasn't the prettiest goal he'll ever score it was one that earned Wednesday a very good tie in round four. I don't want to get to into the Nuhiu debate but some of the criticism on twitter after the game was ridiculous, he scores a goal that gives six thousand Wednesday fans one the best away days of the last few years and gets slagged off? Doesn't sit right with me that. Luton had their chances but Wednesday defended well, Nuhiu heading one off the line and a good save from Cameron Dawson. Wednesday almost had a slot on the next Rory McGrath DVD (is that still a thing?) when Tom Lees' back pass nearly trickled into his own net. Thankfully it didn't. Overall considering Luton were unbeaten at home for 13 months a good night's work.

 

Wigan Athletic

 

After the cup win it was back to Hillsborough for a league game against Paul Cook's Wigan. It was a game where I think most Wednesday fans were expecting to win. I thought for a mid/lower half table we were excellent. Dominated the game for the most part and bar one decent chance for Wigan they never really troubled the Wednesday goal. Their keeper pulled off a couple of decent saves but Steven Fletcher again decided to smash in a goal from an unrealistic position. After some lovely interplay from Barry Bannan and Adam Reach, Fletcher picked the ball up and ran with it, positioned himself and struck it beautifully into the back of the net. I must confess that a bloke behind me said shoot and I said "Oh no, don't shoot from there" I blame the angle personally. After that Wednesday could have added to it, probably the only criticism of the game was the fact we didn't kill it off but that comes with confidence. Overall a positive day at Hillsborough.

 

Chelsea

 

So then we went on for a little adventure in the Cup. Chelsea and Wednesday have history when it comes to cup football. This however his a very different Chelsea to the one we last player in the 1999/00 Season. Since then Wednesday have been in League One twice and face oblivion off the field, Chelsea have won 5 Premier League titles, 6 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, 3 Community Shields, A Europa League and in 2012 the Champions League. It's fair to say the two clubs have had different paths over the last 19 years. It was always going to be a tough ask, Wednesday went their with a game plan and for 20 minutes or so it was working. We thought we had a penalty after Andre Marriner gave us one only for VAR (which I am an advocate of) proved it to be the wrong decision. For me that knocked us off balance and Chelsea themselves were given a penalty a few moments later. After that it was an uphill struggle. 3-0 was probably fair but I felt for some of the players. They all but in 100%, the fans were excellent and made themselves heard. It was nice that although the result wasn't the right one but fans made an impact on the national media. Some of the criticism of the tactics used by Steve Agnew in his final game before handing over to Steve Bruce was unjust in my opinion. This idea of 'going for it', well for a start it actually isn't as easy to just go for it. You can plan to attack all you want but a quality team like Chelsea can stop you before you start. Look at someone like Rüdiger at the back for Chelsea, see how good he is on the ball as a centre back. It's not as easy to say "Go and attack them" this is FIFA or Football Manager, it's not like you can just press a button and you're more attacking. Maybe we could have made the substitutions earlier but ultimately that comes down to how fit certain players were and how realistic it was that we were going to get anything from the game anyway. I think if you were expecting a more attacking display from Wednesday then you haven't watched us a lot over the last 18 months. We're an average Championship team and Chelsea are a top 6 side in best league in the world.

 

Deadline Day

 

I can't say I'm a massive fan of deadline day, it can occasionally be exciting but often it's Sky basically glorifying bigger clubs holding smaller ones to ransom. Trying to build up excitement of a player going somewhere on loan or a deal falling through. Just feels a bit wrong to me. This year however Wednesday made moves to add three to the squad. Dominic Iorfa from Wolves on a permanent deal and Rolando Aarons and Achraf Lazaar both from Newcastle on loan. All three make sense from a positional point of view. Iorfa comes in to challenge Palmer and Baker you would imagine while with Matt Penney being out until April Lazaar comes in to offer competition for the rejuvenated Morgan Fox. Aarons offers pace out wide and as a winger gives us something we don't have enough of. It was surprising to see the deals done given the current FFP/P&S restrictions but we have to trust in the club and hopefully all three players come in and do well. Welcome aboard lads. As for outgoings, nobody left Hillsborough despite strong rumours of Sam Winnall departing. For one reason or another that didn't happen and now it's up to Winnall to earn a first team shirt. Work hard, take your chances. That's what you'd hope so.

 

 

Thanks for reading

 

Tom

 

WAWAW

Sheffield Wednesday 2018/19: December Review

Another month of games goes by and another blog, December has certainly been a busy one. Not only the traditional Christmas fixture list but a heated fans forum and fall out from plus a managerial departure. It's been quite a month.

The Forum

Normally I head straight into the games in these blogs but due to what went on just before Christmas I think it's important this is addressed straight away. The whole fans forum idea certainly split opinion, by the EFL rules you have to go a certain amount of them a season which might be a debate for another day. For me the format of them doesn't seem to work as well as other things such as steering group meetings. While the idea of getting to ask the chairman whatever you like is obviously a good one it can often descend into a bit of a mismanaged evening often with the chairman being either misquoted or people taking what he says out of context. The big headline of the night was obviously Chansiri saying he was to put the club up for sale. Now again there has been a lot of discussion as to whether this was a genuine statement or not. For me it doesn't really matter for the moment. If there is a buyer waiting in the wings and it's a deal that suits Chansiri fair enough, if Chansiri changes his mind, or it wasn't a serious threat, Again fair enough. Football is football, nothing surprises me. The FFP question was asked and again there didn't seem to be a solid plan of what to do going forward that would guarantee avoiding any sanctions against the club in the summer. Again I think that's another blog in itself about what may or may not happen. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on FFP/P&S but it's hard to see without selling players how the club can avoid punishment.

 

Jos no longer the boss

Obviously the other big off the field decision was to remove Jos Luhukay of his position as manager. A lot of questions were raised when Chansiri made the claim that changing managers doesn't always work, personally and this is just my opinion Chansiri didn't quite realise the distain for Luhukay prior to the forum and he changed his mind. I could be wrong on that and if so fair enough. It was overdue, for me as someone who does like to see managers given time it was hard to go to games thinking the manager shouldn't be in the dugout. I personally wouldn't sing for a manager to lose his job but I could understand why those fans at Blackburn and Swansea and against Rotherham at home did. The team was not performing, the players heads were down, the fans had turned and it was toxic at Hillsborough. Some might say he should have gone a lot earlier than he did, maybe so. He still has my sympathy with the fact he never really got a proper transfer window, the fact he never got a chance to work with the likes of Lee and Hooper but ultimately that was not enough to excuse some of the results and performances. Ultimately Jos failed and had to leave. I wish him well, I think he's a decent enough bloke probably wasn't aware of just how big a job it was when he took over in January.

 

The Matches

Blackburn Rovers
 

Following on from the win over Bolton at the end of November, we travelled over to face another side from Lancashire in Blackburn Rovers. While Blackburn have a very good home record it's fair to say we had a chance of getting something. Sadly it was another afternoon to forget for Wednesday and the first of the games where the fans chanted for Jos Luhukay to lose his job. We gifted Blackburn three points, made it far too easy for the likes of Bradley Dack and Danny Graham to punish us. The team looked bereft of ideas and organisation. While a manager's tenure can never be truly decided on one game this felt like the end. As much as goals from Joao and Bannan showed a bit of fightback they really masked what was a drab afternoon in the Blackburn rain.

 

Rotherham United

 

A week later Wednesday were at home to face Paul Warne's  Rotherham United, the Millers arrived at Hillsborough having not won a Championship away game since April 2016 but this felt like their best chance. I hate to say that and sound negative but that's genuinely how I was feeling in the build up to the game. After a tepid first 45 minutes that man Joao again put Wednesday ahead on the stroke of half time after a great ball from Adam Reach. While it may have been undeserved I was shocked at the booing as the players came off. OK the situation wasn't great but to boo a team who were winning? Really? The 2nd half was more entertaining, Rotherham equalised quickly through Michael Smith who we didn't deal with all game before Richie Towell put Wednesday in front. That goal for me summed Wednesday under Jos up, it was clear what Towell was going to do and we did nothing to stop it. Maybe Dawson should have saved it but the truth is it should never have got to him. Wednesday equalised through Joao again from a Daniel Pudil cross who'd come on as a half time substitute. It finished level and while it was probably fair if I was a Miller I'd have been disappointed with the full time score.

Swansea City

 

 Another week passed by and a trip down to South Wales to face Swansea. While they still have some of the names from the Premier League the Swans aren't quite at the level of some of the other sides in this division. They still have quality players however and it wouldn't be an easy trip. We actually played fairly well. Similar to the Derby County game at home where we probably edged it but ultimately lost. We were the better side and took the lead through Marco Matias only for a collapse that lead to a 2-1 defeat. Defensive errors again. For a defensive coach we sat with the worst defence in the division and no sign on things improving. It was yet another defeat on the road for Jos and another chorus of calling for the Dutchman's head. The post match interview with BBC Radio Sheffield was ended prematurely by Jos not being too happy with being asked about his future. That was the last we heard from him. Although he wasn't officially gone by the pre match presser for Preston, he was by the time the game came around.

 

Preston North End
 

 So after the departure of Jos Luhukay there was a game of football to be played. The final home game of 2018 saw Alex Neil's Preston visit Hillsborough. The team news was certainly interesting reading with Westwood back in goal for the first time in a competitive game for over a year. Sam Hutchinson and George Boyd back on the bench having not played since August. It was a much improved performance, I've heard a few people say it was a negative display and Wednesday were lucky. I'm really not sure what game those people were watching. OK so Preston went down to 10 men, but lets not pretend Wednesday weren't in control of that football match. A 2nd half goal from Michael Hector, who looked back to his best as did centre back partner Tom Lees, saw Wednesday take a crucial three points.

Middlesbrough
 

 So onto the traditional Doxing Day fixture, Wednesday's record on Boxing Day since returning to the Championship in 2012 is outstanding. Six wins and a draw, it's fair to say Christmas comes late for Wednesday supporters. Following the win over Preston I think it's fair to say Wednesday fans were slightly more confidant heading into the clash at the Riverside. The travelling fans were rewarded with a hard fought 1-0 win. Adam Reach getting on the end of Barry Bannan's pass. It was a lovely move witch deserved to end up the back of the net. A 2nd win in as many games meant it had been a good couple of days for club legend Lee Bullen. Thrown in at the deep end in caretaker charge he'd reinvigorated the players and the fans, there were quite a few calls for him to be given the job permanently following the reports that Steve Bruce is likely to take over.

 

West Brom

 

So the final game of 2018 took the Owls to the West Midlands to take on Darren Moore's West Brom. For me the squad assembled at the Hawthorns is one of the best I can remember in Championship history. Packed with attacking talent and we'd seen ourselves back in October how quickly they could turn it on. That 2-2 draw at Hillsborough was probably a bit of a turning point in Jos' time here as the last five minutes over shadowed the previous 85. This game saw the return to the bench of Sam Winnall who hadn't played football at all since February and hadn't played for Wednesday since August 2017. It also saw the return of last seasons less than popular away kit as the third kit for this season. Common practice among football clubs to be fair but still something the club was getting a little bit of stick for before the game. Onto the football and Atdhe Nuhiu gave the Owls the lead after just five minutes and Wednesday once again were the better side for large spells of the contest. However deep into added time a corner from Matt Phillips was deflected into the Owls goal by David Jones, however Chris Brunt was claiming it and I'd rather he had got it that Jones. Just on Brunt I saw a few (and I do mean a few) people having a go at him for celebrating the goal in the way he did. Now I get the idea that people don't like to see former players celebrate their goals against us but lets look at a couple of fans. Chris Brunt signed for West Brom from Wednesday 11 years ago. He's played way more games for them then he did for us and he also didn't celebrate when he scored against us back in 2009/10 at Hillsborough. I don't get what there is to be annoyed about there. As for the result yeah the manner of it was frustrating but I'd have taken a point before a ball was kicked and had West Brom have been on it like they were a few weeks ago against our neighbours in S2 it could have been very different.

 

So all in all a busy and action packed month for Sheffield Wednesday. Would we have it any other way? Onto January.

 

Thanks for reading

 

Tom

 

WAWAW





Sheffield Wednesday 2018/19: November Review

Well here we are again, it doesn't seem that long since I was writing the review of October and once again there is plenty to talk about regarding Sheffield Wednesday's season so far. This is the review of November.

Matches

 

Norwich City

 

We started the month with a visit from the form side in the Championship, Norwich. The Canaries had not won at Hillsborough since 2001 and hadn't won an away league game in November for 10 years. Both those records were rectified from their point of view by the end of the game. I will say that Norwich were excellent in the 2nd half, all four goals were scored in the 2nd 45 minutes and they took us apart with ease. It could have been six very easily. It was difficult to find anything positive heading into the derby at Bramall Lane. We looked so easy to beat, it looked like some of the players had given up. There were a lot of chants during the game for the likes of Keiren Westwood and Sam Hutchinson, they don't help. It's not even like either were on the bench.

 

Sheffield United

 

 

There has already been quite a bit of analysis and opinion on the derby clash at Bramall Lane. My take on it was firmly that having lost four on the spin and having been as poor as we were against Norwich going to Bramall Lane, playing the way we did and getting a point was a good result. There has been this thing going about of "this is how you play a derby game" and some have gone as far to say that they would rather have lost 3-0 having a go than doing what we did and getting a 0-0. I'm sorry but I don't believe that, would you really want to thrashed by our biggest rivals all for the sake of a 'better' performance? I doubt it. While I thoroughly accept its a sad example of how far we have fallen it was still the right thing to do and it was a great point for us. A first clean sheet of the season in the league and another penalty save for Cameron Dawson who I felt really shut a few people up after that. Ultimately we got a point very few thought we would and that's a positive. The biggest irony of all of it is I actually feel had we controlled the ball a bit better in the middle, we could have won it.

 

 

Derby County

 

 

After the international break we hosted Frank Lampard's Derby. It was another game where the pre match feeling was one of how many Derby would get. We started really well, created a couple of good chances and took the lead through Adam Reach. However we allowed Derby, who lets be honest are a good side with lots of talented individuals in their squad back into the game with a poor piece of defending where 4/5 players all made mistakes. The 2nd goal wasn't much better, initially Wednesday were attacking a corner and an uncharacteristic mistake from Michael Hector lead to Jack Marriott doubling the lead for the Rams. After that while it was hardly vintage Wednesday it was a decent enough performance and had we have had a fully match fit Fernando Forestieri we probably would have equalised. You only need to take a look at the picture of Scott Carson's face after it goes wide. That tells you everything you need to know. While we didn't win I felt there were a lot of positives from the performance. Some decent link up play between Forestieri, Joao and Matias. The one big negative of the day was the sarcastic cheers when Morgan Fox was substituted. Now I think 90% of people reading this will probably accept that Morgan Fox hasn't put in the level of performance over his time here expected of a Championship full back and I'd agree with that but he is a player who puts 100% in. He actually did ok against Derby. He didn't deserve those sarcastic cheers, no player who puts his all in deserves that. I felt sorry for him. I dread to think what that feeling must be like. I get that some people might say it's a wider point like the previous chants for Westwood and Hutchinson but I completely disagree and think it was an embarrassing thing for people to do. It lacked class and it was so far from what I think support is. I very much hope it was a one off.

 

 

Bolton Wanderers

 

 

Onto the last game of the month and a visit from Bolton Wanderers. Bolton were ahead of the game on the longest run of anyone without a win in the division which made it a real opportunity for Wednesday to get a much needed victory of their own. There has been an awful lot of negativity from both sets of fans following the game and in fairness I can understand a lot of it. The first half was among the worst I've seen. Both sides struggling to put a pass together let alone a coherent move. It was a frustrating 45 minutes. After the break however I think we actually played fairly well. By no means was it vintage but it wasn't bad. Forestieri again providing the spark after being brought on at half time. I thought Thorniley was outstanding, for me he must stay in the side. Him, Hector and Lees all seem to play well together whether it's a three or a four at the back. Marco Matias again put a good shift in, worked hard and put in an excellent recovery tackle. While it can be said Bolton were poor you can only beat what is in front of you. Wednesday got the job done, hopefully it can be the win we need to kickstart a decent run in a very busy festive period.

 

 

 Jos avoiding the loss prevents a new boss?

 

 

OK it's a slightly stolen title but it does fit in nicely. Did the win over Bolton keep Jos Luhukay in his job? I genuinely don't know, I think there's a good chance it might have done but I can't say for sure. The one thing I keep coming back to in the Jos In/Out debate is that I don't see a quick fix. People talk about Steve Bruce or Slaviša Jokanović but neither would be able to come in and immediately turn things around. Neither would have the huge budgets they did in previous jobs. In the case of Jokanović at Fulham he didn't have instant success there, it took a while to get the slick football and wins that got them promoted last season. For me if we did make a change someone like a Paul Heckingbottom would fit the bill better. Done well on a shoestring budget at Barnsley as well as losing his best players and assistant manager, as well as a CEO departing. This isn't me saying we should sack Jos more an observation if we did. Whoever the manager is going forward it's going to be a struggle. FFP/P&S restrictions, likely player sales, a young crop of players coming through who need guidance and a fanbase that lets be honest is disillusioned with the club. On Tuesday night the atmosphere at Hillsborough was non-existent. The prices clearly make it an easy decision for some to stay away and it's really hurting the atmosphere which in turn in my opinion does affect performance. It's a difficult place to play when things aren't going well, you can feel the frustration around the ground.

 

A busy month to come, six games over the festive period in December before the New Year. Hopefully Santa can bring Wednesdayites some much needed cheer.

 

Thanks for reading

 

Tom

 

WAWAW