Time for changes

Last updated : 06 October 2009 By C. Morris

With the Coca-Cola Championship taking a week off for another international break the near 3,000  Sheffield Wednesday fans that travelled to Pride Park last Saturday and plenty more besides will be feeling more than a little deflated about the team’s prospects.

The summer offered plenty of positives for the 2009/10 season with a fan-based optimistic approach from the board season ticket sales improved, useful acquisitions to the squad were made and key players signed new contracts, all pointing towards realistic hope for an improvement on last seasons 12th placed finish.

With almost a quarter of the league season now played the team appears to be suffering from the same problems as the last campaign, especially defensively.
Wednesday are 16th in the table and only one team currently above them has conceded more goals.

Two clean sheets from 11 matches tells its own story and there is little sign that any improvement is being made in this department as the Owls have conceded three times in three of the last five games.
Other than Richard Wood, none of the back four can be satisfied with there displays to date and with options available Brian Laws must surely now be considering making changes.

Right-back Frank Simek has not looked anything like at his best when he has played this season but produced a much-improved display in the last reserve game against Sheffield United and must be wondering when he is going to get his first team chance given the indifferent form of Lewis Buxton.

Captain Darren Purse started the season well but has been at fault too many times of late and the Owls have other options available at centre-back in the form of both Mark Beevers and Richard Hinds.

At left-back no one can doubt Tommy Spurr’s commitment but his positioning and general defending has been way below his best of late. Michael Gray has been playing in the Owls midfield but made his name as a left back and his experience and positional sense could counter his lack of pace.

Brian Laws spoke of attacking and going for three points prior to the Derby game but in truth the Owls offered little in the first half and were perhaps not fortunate to concede more than one before half-time.

With Wednesday resuming with two home games after the international break the team is approaching a very important stage of the season. If they are to be bold an attack teams then what better time to do so than against fellow mid-table side Coventry at Hillsborough. If Gray was to revert to left-back then Wednesday could start with both Esajas and Johnson on the flanks, offering a combination of crossing and dead ball ability with pace.

Luke Varney is likely to return in place of Leon Clarke who had a hapless afternoon at Derby. The striker missed a couple of sitters at times that could well have changed the complexion of the game but this should not overshadow the fact that the major problems lie at the back.
It may be a risk to change three of the back four all at once as discussed but a shake-up is clearly needed.

It’s not all doom and gloom as the Owls have played well in a good proportion of the games so far, especially at home but have been badly let down by defensive lapses and as they sit 4 points off a play-off place and five points ahead of the relegation zone October is set to be a key month of matches.