He's a bit tidy, get your crosses sorted; Seven things we learned from Sheffield Wednesday’s return to action

A last-gasp header from Connor Wickham cancelled out Joe Lolley’s opener to see the spoils shared in a 1-1 draw, grabbing a goal that the Owls most certainly deserved having gone close on numerous other occasions throughout the game.

I took a look at some of the key talking points…

Paying respects

Both Wednesday and Forest players alike paid their respects to the NHS for their efforts during the Coronavirus pandemic and acknowledged the Black Lives Matter movement ahead of yesterday’s tie at Hillsborough.

The joint tribute of the two teams showed a solidarity from the players, who hail from numerous countries and are of different races, for those helping the United Kingdom through tough times and for those fighting for equality.

The taking of the knee originates from NFL star, Colin Kaepernick, who sunk to one knee in a protest against police brutality back in 2016, and has risen to prominence in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the police in Minneapolis, with sports stars across the globe getting involved.

All 22 players took to one knee, some raising a fist in solidarity, after a moment’s silence had been held for the NHS before kick off. Lovely to see.

No contract, no start

One thing I noticed about Garry Monk’s XI is that there were quite clearly decisions made based on who is going to be around for at least the remainder of the 2019/20 season.

The entire team that started the game was made up of players who either have contracts beyond this season, are loanees until this campaign comes to an end, and Kieran Lee – who has committed a short-term extension for next month.

On the bench, it was only Steven Fletcher and Morgan Fox – who Monk has been very clear about wanting to keep – who made the cut, suggesting that he only wanted players playing who he can call upon going forward.

Hunt’s tidy, isn’t he?

He might have only had a 10-minute cameo, but young Alex Hunt continues to look like a very talented little player.

Hunt’s played against Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City in the cup, but the 20-year-old made his Championship bow on Saturday and looked very tidy indeed, coming across as comfortable and calm on the ball as they pushed for an equaliser.

The Wednesday youth graduate had 14 touches and made 12 passes in his short appearance, and didn’t misplace any of them as he finished a 100% pass completion rate. He also managed to do what most of his teammates failed to do, and successfully dribble past an opponent.

Fletch in, Fletch out

The situation surrounding Fletcher’s Wednesday future took another twist on Saturday as he came on, played six minutes, and then had to go off again due to what looks to be a hamstring problem.

Having trained fine all week, Monk opted to start the 33-year-old on the bench against Forest, which in hindsight looked to be the right decision after he was forced to take him off again.

Now, depending on the severity of his injury, the contract negotiations between player and club could take on a different status as he enters into the last week of his current deal in Sheffield.

On the plus side, goalscorer Wickham was meant to come off according to Monk, so the only reason he was on the field to score the equaliser is because Fletcher wasn’t able to continue.

Sort your crosses out

If one stat stuck out from Saturday’s game, it’s that Wednesday desperately need to be better when it comes to getting good balls into the box.

With Harris and Murphy on the wings, they did seem to have some nice width to them and were able to cause problems for Forest with their wide play, however too many crosses – both set piece and from open play – weren’t good enough.

Despite making 40 crosses in 90 minutes, just nine of them found their target, and four of those were from Murphy, who had an impressive return of four accurate crosses from seven.

With Wickham, Jordan Rhodes and Fletcher if he plays again, the Owls do have a good aerial threat in the box, and if service can improve then there’s goals there for sure.

3-5-2 could work

I for one thought that the formation used did suit Wednesday nicely, especially in the first half. And they certainly have the players to work well in a 3-5-2 for the remainder of the season.

As aforementioned, if the wide players especially can start finding the target more often, and Wickham/Rhodes keep up the kind of movement they showed against Forest, then it could definitely work.

Massimo Luongo playing alongside Barry Bannan gives Wednesday’s number 10 a lot more freedom of movement, and – as he showed with some nice passes – it’s Bannan that can make the team tick. He does, however, need to make more of his set piece delivery.

Nando done?

Monk was very clear on the fact that Fernando Forestieri came back to training behind his teammates in terms of his fitness levels, and had been ‘playing catch up’. So with his contract expiring in a weeks’ time (though he has been offered a short-term extension apparently), will he play for Wednesday again?

There’s eight games to play, and anything could happen, but it seems like the writing’s on the wall for the Argentine attacker at Hillsborough.