Sheffield Wednesday: 'Owls have no identity at the moment', says Jon Newsome

Former Sheffield Wednesday defender Jon Newsome says the Owls do not currently have an 'identity' under boss Jos Luhukay.
Jon Newsome had two spells playing for Sheffield Wednesday.Jon Newsome had two spells playing for Sheffield Wednesday.
Jon Newsome had two spells playing for Sheffield Wednesday.

The centre-back, who had two spells playing for Wednesday during his career, told The Star that he is not a fan of managers making several changes to the starting line-up every week.

After losing at home to Middlesbrough on October 19, Luhukay has made 15 changes in the games against Queen's Park Rangers, Birmingham City, Norwich City and Sheffield United.

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Wednesday went into October's international break positioned in 6th but have since slumped to 17th after losing four of their last five matches.

"For me personally it is impossible to say if there is any progression or not because if you ask me what formation do Sheffield Wednesday play and how do they go about winning a game of football, I have not really got an answer for you because every week it is different," Newsome said.

"I feel like they have not really got an identity at the moment. Look at the last opposition, Sheffield United, they know exactly what they are going to bring to the table, you know how they are going to play, you know what personnel they are going to play. If they get a couple of injuries they are going to swap like for like, they are still going to do the same thing because that is how they believe they are going to win football matches more than lose them. I think at the moment we have not got that."

He added: "If you said to me 'what team is he (Luhukay) going to pick for the next game' I don't think I could tell you."

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Steven Fletcher says he jumped at the chance for Scotland recallLuhukay was appointed Owls boss in January and managed to steer the club away from a relegation fight, winning six out of the last nine.

But Wednesday have not been able to find any consistency so far this season, with five wins and seven defeats.

Newsome, a boyhood Owls fan, said: "I find it really difficult to say have we made progression or not because if you look at the Aston Villa game then yes we played great and what a great victory and then you look at the Norwich City game and we look like we have gone backwards so I think it is really, really difficult to try and work out whether we have made any progression or not because you've no stability to base that on."

Wednesday are next in action against Derby County at Hillsborough on Saturday, November 24.