Empty (and broken) chairs, unpleasant tables – SIX talking points from Les Misérables at Hillsborough after Sheffield Wednesday’s derby defeat to Barnsley

Forgive me the musical theatre reference, but it really is quite Misérables at Hillsborough right now – and things don’t look to be getting any better for Sheffield Wednesday.
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Against Barnsley though, they were missed more than ever. The Tykes picked up their first win over Wednesday since way back in 2009, and you can’t help but think that with a full Kop, Tony Pulis’ side would have picked up at least a point.

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They weren’t though, and they didn’t. So here are some talking points from the game…

A positive

So let’s get this out of the way quickly. There was one positive to come from the match, and that’s the long-awaited debut of Chey Dunkley.

Dunkley joined the Owls earlier this year after being snapped up as a free agent by Garry Monk, but it took 122 days for him to finally pull on a blue and white shirt as he worked hard to come back from a nasty double leg break.

Dominic Iorfa will not play again for Sheffield Wednesday this season. (Pic Steve Ellis)Dominic Iorfa will not play again for Sheffield Wednesday this season. (Pic Steve Ellis)
Dominic Iorfa will not play again for Sheffield Wednesday this season. (Pic Steve Ellis)

Fans have been desperate to see him action given the reputation that he came with, and – result aside – he did well for a player who’s not played a game of competitive football in almost 300 days.

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He’s loud, I’ll tell you that. You could hear his strong Brummy accent from up in the media box almost immediately after kick off, and it feels like he’s got some real potential as a leader in the Wednesday side.

Pulis was really pleased with him, and praised his attitude after revealing that he put his hand up to start after it was discovered that Julian Börner wouldn’t be able to feature.

He was brought off in the second half, obviously, but after tonight’s really bad news, his return is well timed.

Giveth and taketh away

So we had the positive of Dunkley’s return, but by the time the evening was over there was only one player that Wednesdayites were really talking about.

Dominic Iorfa went off injured, and it’s a bad one.

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Pulis came out straight after the game and confirmed that the reigning Player of the Season had done his Achilles – “We think it’s a rupture” – and would almost certainly be out for the remainder of the season.

Whether he’s used in defence or midfield, there is absolutely no doubt about the importance of ‘Big Dom’ to Sheffield Wednesday. He’s probably the club’s most valuable asset at the moment, and to lose a player of his quality would be a blow for any Championship side – let alone one propping up the bottom of the table.

A smashed up chair

It’s safe to say that Calum Paterson was not happy with how things went on Saturday afternoon… That was made clear when he smashed a chair in the stands after being substituted towards the end of the game - you could hear the bang from up in the media box.

His passion and commitment to the cause is unquestionable. He was visibly devastated when he was sat in the stands, head in his hands as the Owls slumped to another defeat – he’ll be getting no sympathy from the chair though.

Izzy creative?

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Pulis clearly doesn’t fancy him right now. He’s having to make do with bit-part cameos at the end of games up to now, but he certainly tried to make things happen against the Reds after coming on with the Owls chasing the game at 2-1.

Wednesday seem to be crying out for another creative player to shoulder some of the burden put on Barry Bannan’s shoulder, and while many see the Chelsea loanee as a player who can do that, it doesn’t seem like his current manager is convinced.

Only seven Championship players averaged more key passes per game Brown him last season (2.1) asked about the midfielder after the game and Pulis said, “Izzy’s been injured, and he’s not as fit as maybe he should be. With a few of them, I can only go off the people who have been here before - and go on what they say and what they don’t say.

Look down

The table is not looking good. With every passing game it looks more and more like it could just be ‘one of those seasons’. Rock bottom of the league with only three wins to their name and one of worst goalscoring records in the division.

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Iorfa’s injury is another example of things not going their way, but one moment against Barnsley pretty much summed up where things are for Wednesday at the moment…

The score is 2-1, they’re chasing an equaliser, and Joey Pelupessy gets the ball on the edge of the box. He cracks one, and he caught it delightfully. It’s flying top corner, but Jack Walton manages to touch it onto the bar.

It bounces back down, hits the goalkeeper on his back and heads back towards goal. But instead of going in, it clips the post and is cleared.

When things are going for you, that goes in.

Fitting lyrics…

And lastly, I just wanted to touch on how fitting the half-time music seemed to be for this one.

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The Owls left the field, 2-1 down after being in the lead (again) with Bastille’s ‘Pompeii’ pumping out of the speakers.

If you don’t know the song, some of the lyrics go like this:

“And if you close your eyes, does it almost feel like you've been here before? How am I gonna be an optimist about this?”

And yes, Bastille. We can relate.

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