Barry Bannan out wide? – Positional change for Sheffield Wednesday captain explained

The decision to play Barry Bannan as a right-sided midfielder raised eyebrows as Sheffield Wednesday lined up against Oxford United – and Darren Moore has explained his thinking.
Barry Bannan was back in the Sheffield Wednesday XI on Saturday.Barry Bannan was back in the Sheffield Wednesday XI on Saturday.
Barry Bannan was back in the Sheffield Wednesday XI on Saturday.

Wednesday were beaten 2-1 at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon as they lost their unbeaten League One start on home soil thanks to a late winner from James Henry in the dying moments – a goal that meant they finished the evening in 12th place.

After their skipper missed out on the 2-1 win away at Wigan Athletic after a minor knee injury, he was back in the starting XI at S6 – but in an unfamiliar position on the right side of their midfield.

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At the break, though, he was brought back into the centre, and Wednesday did look a lot more of a threat in the second half.

When asked about the decision after the game Moore told the media, “Barry came in on the right-hand side, because he was working inside the pitch to try and create a little overload in the midfield by working into the pockets. That’s what Baz does - he operates well in those spaces, so we tried him out there.

“But we thought in the second half we should get him more in central zones and move Dennis out on the right-hand side, to give us more power. And I think it was a good switch because we got more energy to it.”

Next up for the Owls is a visit to Mansfield Town on Tuesday night.