As fans plot sarcastic Jack Marriott win, here's who our writers think is Sheffield Wednesday's player of the season

The club opened up the vote on its website this weekend, prompting a bubbling social media hijack by supporters unhappy with how the season has gone.

The hijack has encouraged votes for on-loan Derby forward Jack Marriott, whose Hillsborough stint was limited to just 12 goalless appearances, mostly from the bench.

Here are the top three candidates as chosen by our Wednesday writers Joe Crann and Alex Miller.

Joe Crann

1.. Josh Windass

It’s hard to look past Windass as the Wednesday Player of the Season, I think. Only a handful of players have played more minutes than he has, he’s the club’s top scorer and nobody has created more goals than he has going into the final game.

If Wednesday do manage to pull off a miracle over the coming days, then it’ll be largely thanks to his contribution towards the back end of the season, and his commitment can never be questioned.

2.. Tom Lees

For me, he’s been solid if not spectacular over the course of the season. Up until Windass’ impressive form in recent weeks – and a bit of a drop-off from him – Lees would probably have been my number one pick.

He’s been the only bit of consistency in the Owls’ backline, and while he can get caught out a bit when playing out of the back, his performances have been steady enough while others have peaked and dipped far too often.

3.. Barry Bannan

It’s not been his most glittering season by any stretch, but Bannan has never hidden and is the only player to have been available for every single game over the course of this Championship season.

Only four players in the entire league have made more key passes than he has this season, and he’s had a couple of absolute masterclass performances in what has been a pretty grim campaign.

Alex Miller

1.. Josh Windass

Asked this very question six months or so ago, I jumped the gun and suggested Tom Lees was my Wednesday player of the year by some distance and for a long while he was. But he’s been leapfrogged a couple of times.

Josh Windass has contributed to over 40% of Wednesday’s goals this season in an ailing attacking unit and in the last few weeks, when the heat has been on, has carried the attack at times.

2.. Barry Bannan

Bumping Lees into third is Barry Bannan, who has been far from his brilliant best but still has competitive numbers when it comes to playmakers across the Championship.

His display in the win over Cardiff is without doubt the individual performance of the season and he’s showed up in these last few weeks. An ever-present, that’s more than can be said for many of his teammates.

3.. Tom Lees

It feels harsh, but a downturn in form leading into his saddening campaign-ending injury at Boro shifts Tom Lees into third.

Up to the final quarter of the season he was the stand-out consistent man for the Owls and is among the best in the division when it comes to defensive stats. Only three men have made more clearances this season.

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