A decade curse, a returning snowball and just cut-outs for company; Six things we learned from another disappointing Sheffield Wednesday result

After weathering the Preston North End storm and escaping unscathed in the first half, Jacob Murphy gave the hosts the lead and a glimmer of hope, Not long later though – after a disallowed goal and some poor defending – SWFC found themselves staring defeat in the face once more.

Here’s some talking points from the game…

Too many mistakes

The performance wasn’t great, and the result was awful, but one thing that really stuck out was the sheer amount of individual errors being made across the park from Wednesday players.

Many players were guilty of giving the ball away cheaply, and Monk spoke after the game at length about ‘fundamentals’ and ‘basics’ that weren’t being done by the team, most notably the backline against PNE. It was by far the worst performance of Dominic Iorfa, Liam Palmer and Julian Börner since the restart.

Is the snowball returning?

During the break, several Wednesday players spoke of how things ‘snowballed’ for the Owls when results weren’t coming. They got themselves into a rut that they couldn’t get out of, but it was hoped that the long break in games would give them a chance to get back on track – they did, at first.

But after promising performances in the first couple of games, Wednesday have lost three Championship games on the bounce since December/January when their slump in form started, and that doesn’t bode well.

Fans aren’t the problem

There had been a school of thought that fan pressure at Hillsborough may have contributed to the Owls’ poor home form as they struggled with a demanding fanbase, but that excuse no longer stands.

It’s now one win in 10 home games for Wednesday, with Monk’s side getting just two goals in three games (conceding seven) with only cardboard cut-outs for company in S6. Barney the Dog hasn’t been the lucky charm we’d hoped.

The Curse of the Decades?

Not to be too superstitious, but things happen to Sheffield Wednesday at the turn of the decade. That’s not superstitious, it’s factual.

Many times over the years, Wednesday have found themselves moving somewhere as one decade ends and another begins, but it’s been consistent over the last 50 years.

Relegated in 1970, promoted in 1980, relegated in 1990, 2000 and 2010, and now it’s over to 2020 - and promotion is out of the picture. Here’s to the end of that cycle.

Wednesday’s unhelpful helping hand

I think a few fans will have thought the same as me when they saw that Preston were on a seven-game unbeaten run, and that Wednesday had won all five of their last matches against the Lilywhites at Hillsborough…

Unfortunately, the Owls have become dab hands at helping other teams in bad runs of form and not helping themselves, with similar situations against the likes of Luton Town, Reading and Wigan Athletic at different points in the campaign.

End in sight…

Wednesdayites just want to see the back of the 2019/20 season now, and I can’t say I blame them.