Brave calls, oddities and the fascinating obscenity of Sheffield Wednesday - Alex Miller's Owls column
There were moments in Sheffield Wednesday’s routing of AFC Wimbledon that went under the radar. Alex Miller was there.
It was in the 24th minute that it threatened to turn. The match had slowed-up and the away side had taken the opportunity to set up a roadblock. Wednesday passed to and fro searching for inspiration, the crowd got restless and Di’Shon Bernard chipped one over yonder to bounce into the arms of Josef Bursik.
A few moments later, Jaden Heskey sought-out a midfield-splitting pass and at full strength, Ollie Harrison launched himself to get an influential touch and divert it towards a Wimbledon teammate. The crowd groaned.
Far be it beyond a dumpy sportswriter to sit high in the Hillsborough Grandstand and play emperor on the split-second decisions of elite athletes, but it struck that the attempted Heskey pass was a thumbs up and exactly the sort of touch that Wednesday needed to make; line-breaking, advantage-reaching, brave. For a 20-year-old loanee not so often placed at the centre of a stadium growing grumpy at a goalless period of play that served to frustrate Sheffield Wednesday, it was impressive and prompted impassioned applause from the dugout.
To that point, the Owls had been at it and moved the ball nicely but the Dons had moved to frustrate and the scoreline sat dormant. It was a resistance to that sole Bernard over-hit and moments such as Heskey’s that inspired all that was about to come. An opener thanks to fine work from a rejuvenated Davis Keillor-Dunn, finished by a popping Barry Bannan - bop. A capitalisation on error from Keillor-Dunn himself - thwack. A swazzy pass and snappy finish from Harry Gray - whallop.
From there it was open season. A Sheffield Wednesday side whose week had been queried by concern over progression, fluidity and excitement ended up launching 25 shots on goal. Callum Slattery, somehow renewed, bagged his third of the season and Keillor-Dunn got a second of the day to mark a star turn. Once the first half flurry had been whisked they were all fun and fizz and snap, crackle, pop.
Well before kick-off, coach Pete Shuttleworth led a pre-match huddle that from the insight of a man 80 yards away seemed somehow longer and more pointed than those before. The content will be known only by those present but you can’t help but wonder what themes were discussed. Hillsborough had seen two flat attacking performances heading into the Wombling whalloping and whether acknowledged or not, they had a point to prove. Alongside the ever-reactive slum of social media this time were turning phone-in calls from usually measured fans and an upturn in query from the media. 5-0, thanks anyway.
The arguments made, fairly, that flatter performances were of concern now suddenly look obscene. Should Wednesday win the game in hand they have over their pace-setting comrades, they’ll go top. Only one League One team has scored more goals, only one team has conceded fewer. No team has lost fewer games and the game they did lose was against the table-toppers they are looking to usurp. All this to the backdrop of new faces and injuries and so on. Not bad.
This Wednesday squad has talent but it’s a point worth making in five-star victory rather in disappointment that it is not one that necessarily demands ‘automatic promotion’. One window into a six-or-seven-or-eight window mission to restore its former glories, struggles therein, there are holes in that there ship. The win shows there’s undoubted third tier quality but there’s no front man, it’s reliant on players that require programme management and it’s lacking in depth.
Not to turn on our heels and flip-flop with the same knee-jerk analysis we so often deride, there’s a fair argument to suggest that, actually, it’s punching up. There’s an equal argument to suggest that the likes of a firing Keillor-Dunn provide a threat too great for overwhelmed midtable teams and that against the fiercer sides that lack of balance can leave Wednesday exposed to being second-best. These are still early days and we’ll know more as the weeks go on.
To finish in the top six or better, you feel this squad will need to get the best out of those present and for the players themselves to step up and be brave. ‘Verticality’ may have become a buzzword of ridicule for some out there but there’s a clear desire to get this team playing front-foot and fluid football - Henrik Pedersen is not asking his players to play sideways and backwards much as some detractors would have you believe. Once the nerves of the goalless first half hour were shrugged, there was a ferocity to how they went about it as the Dons looked at one another bemused.
The concerns were bubbling and will never be far away. On Saturday, they pushed and they pulled and in a moment it came together. But it took a few brave decisions to get there when it would have been easier to disappear within themselves.
Another of Pedersen’s catchphrases is ‘no evaluation, just next action’ and there is little time to rest. Tuesday provides the next test and rightly or wrongly, Wednesday will be expected to follow it all up with another win at Notts County. A 7-2, a 5-0, shut-outs in three. These are early stages and this is a fascinating team to follow.