Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde – FIVE talking points from Sheffield Wednesday’s most topsy-turvy performance of the season against Luton Town
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When Robert Louis Stevenson wrote The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, he told the story of one man with two characters. The virtuous Henry Jekyll and wicked Edward Hyde. There was inner turmoil and dastardly deeds, and the efforts of good as it looked to triumph over evil.
But it didn’t triumph. And in the end there was no more Henry Jekyll.
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Hide AdSaturday felt a little bit like that. We’ve seen the good and bad of Wednesday this season, but it’s been more Hyde than Jekyll – shown by their place in the Championship’s relegation zone.
There’s 14 games to go, which means 42 points up for grabs, so the battle is far from over. But the capitulation at Kenilworth Road is a huge cause for concern. For everyone.
Here then, as I lay down the pen and proceed to seal up my confession, I’m starting to lose faith.
Hopefully in this story, Neil Thompson’s serum is strong enough to hold out.
Here are some talking points…
That first half
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Hide AdWe have to talk about it, because it really was great, wasn’t it? Wednesday looked fired up, Josh Windass was flying, the team was ticking along nicely, and they got two (yes, TWO) goals in the first half and could well have had more.
Luton weren’t at the races, and the Owls won every battle in every area of the field. Izzy Brown looked classy, the defence looked sturdy, and we were all thinking, ‘You know what, that chat after Brentford was just what they needed’.
If it’d been 4-0 at the break, it wouldn’t have been unjust. Windass could’ve had a hattrick and you couldn’t really fault the performance of anybody.
The break
What do you say to your team when they’re 2-0 up and in complete control? Probably don’t concede early in the half. And definitely don’t do it from a set-piece. Oh, and if you do concede, don’t panic.
Well, all of those things happened.
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Hide AdCredit to Luton manager, Nathan Jones, who changed everything up at halftime and turned the game on its head. But the saddest things was how inevitable it seemed once they got one goal back. It just felt like a draw was the minimum that the Hatters would get out of it.
They went one better, of course, and finished with all three points. Showcasing – once again – the soft underbelly that has plagued Wednesday for so long.
People talk of how ‘half-time can’t come quick enough’ in some games, but in Bedfordshire, it came too early for SWFC.
Bottle
A lot has been said recently about Wednesday’s inability to get back into games once they go behind. We’ve spoken at great length of how you have to go back to December 2019 to find the last time they completed a successful reversal.
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Hide AdBut today we’ll take on the jolly task of looking at the other side of things. How many times have Wednesday thrown away leads? And how many points have they missed out on because of it?
Because they’re linked. It’s ‘bottle’ at the end of the day. It’s dealing with adversity and making sure you prevail. At both ends of the pitch.
Luton’s reversal was the fourth game this season that Wednesday have lost having led. It was also the eighth time that they failed to win a match when they went ahead. After the three they dropped in Luton it’s now 20 points that they would have added to their tally if they’d managed to hold on.
It’s probably not worth pointing out that even half of those points would make a huge difference.
One of those days…
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Hide AdYou know when you watch a team get relegated and you can feel along the way each time there’s a nail that goes in the coffin? Today felt like one of those.
Sometimes teams go full Undertaker and burst out of the coffin to pull off a great escape, and I hope Wednesday manage that, but that defeat hit hard.
After 45 minutes, Wednesday were leading, Birmingham City were losing, and the Owls were out of the relegation zone with a big game against Rotherham United on the horizon. It was so well placed.
But come the final whistle, Aitor Karanka’s side had turned it around against Queens Park Rangers, SWFC had fallen to pieces, and they found themselves back in the bottom three and six points adrift of safety. In 45 minutes the tables turned completely.
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Hide AdIt’s by no means done, there’s a lot of football to be played and ‘Thommo’ certainly hasn’t given up, but something needs to change – and quick – if the Owls want to still be in the Championship next season.
Izzy worthy of another start?
It certainly wasn’t the return to action that he wanted in terms of the result, but Izzy Brown getting a full 90 minutes under his belt was a real plus for Wednesday.
In the first half he looked good in the centre alongside Barry Bannan, he gave the opposition another creative player to worry about. There were some glimpses of what he can do, and it was nice to see him driving at Luton as he looked to try and make something happen.
Thompson was pretty impressed too, telling The Star afterwards, “He’s not played a lot of football, but he’s waited for his opportunity and he showed bits of quality, that is for sure.”
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Hide AdHis desire was there, he’s certainly got the passion and the fight, and he’s probably done enough to justify another starting berth on Wednesday in what really is now a must-win game for the men in blue and white.