Sheffield Wednesday secure visit to pick brains of Ipswich Town as resurgence plan formulates
As Michael Smith took another touch to take him closer to Christian Walton, Portman Road sat in bewildered acceptance at what was about to play out.
The in-form Sheffield Wednesday striker had opened the scoring with a signature header a few minutes earlier and George Byers had doubled the first-half lead as the Owls sought to extend their position at the top of the League One table. Ipswich were one of a chasing pack but were in a puddle of form having won just once in their previous six. Supporters based around the press box were heard mithering on the methods of manager Kieran McKenna.
As it happened, the chance was squandered and two classy free-kicks from bright young things Nathan Broadhead and Leif Davis earned Ipswich an impressive 2-2 draw. Ipswich would go on to remain unbeaten for the rest of the season, winning 13 of their 15 matches to steamroll past Darren Moore’s Owls and claim the second automatic promotion place.
Some 1,128 days on from that Suffolk afternoon, the fortunes of the two clubs from that point could not have been more different. Ipswich went on to double-up on promotion to the Premier League and look well-placed to give it a red hot crack once again, two points and a game in hand behind wobbling Middlesbrough. Wednesday are, well, Wednesday.
Should the planned takeover by Arise complete in the coming weeks and should the Owls get a reasonable opportunity to reset back in the third tier, the incoming owners would do well to take a good, hard look at the achievements of their countrymen owners of the Portman Road club.
Visits to Ipswich Town in recent years have been a marvel in impression, a famous old stadium transformed into a fan-friendly home with modern clippings, it’s training ground currently the subject of a whopping £30m redevelopment that will place it among the best in the country. In McKenna they have one of Europe’s most fancied young managers and they have a vibrant squad, built partly on an ability to buy and sell kickstarted with investment in young players when they were at third tier level.
Looking beyond the continued uncertainties over what happens next, it’s a structure Sheffield Wednesday are looking to tap into as they plan their own big club resurgence from League One next time out. Henrik Pedersen appears to have developed a rapport with McKenna and is booked in to take a look at things at Ipswich during the forthcoming international break.
“I think it’s really important,” McKenna said in conversation with The Star when asked about the importance of infrastructure, planning and identity when planning a club turnaround. “When we got here we were reminiscing that I was only a few games into the job when we came here and Sheffield Wednesday were perceived to be well ahead of us in League One. They just missed out in the play-offs that year and then went again.
“It’s all really important (structure) and I really wish this club well - Henrik and its supporters. Hopefully it can get itself in a positive direction. I can only speak of our approach in League One and it wasn’t about talking about promotion all the time. It was about building infrastructure, building culture, build a playing style and an identity. Those are the things that can carry you through.
“I know the guys here are planning some of the same things and Henrik has asked me some questions. Obviously it’s been a bad year for them but hopefully they can get on the right track now and go on their journey. It’s a historic and great club.”
It’s in a point McKenna makes that Wednesday could be served with a backhanded advantage depending on how things play out with the EFL in the coming days and weeks. Should Arise go ahead with a takeover on minus-15 points, the weight of expectation that engulfs a third-tier Wednesday would be eased. With workable recruitment constraints, a year spent overcoming such a deduction and resetting itself into a new way of thinking might be the best thing they could hope for.
Ipswich spent three seasons in the midtable of League One before the project kicked in, McKenna was secured and the assembling of an exciting young squad began. But it was in the infrastructure and culture of the club that the Northern Irishman sees the key to prolonged success.
Pedersen is looking forward to gleaning what he can from the trip south later this month. “I think we can always learn and I think if we look back at Ipswich four years ago and what they have done, then I have the biggest, biggest respect for what they have done,” he said. “And one thing is on the pitch, the other thing is beside the pitch, outside the pitch. How they have rebuilt this football club is amazing.
“I have a meeting with him in the national team break to speak with him and the people from Ipswich about what we can learn from them. And yeah, he's a great manager. So of course I can learn something from him.”
Nobody knows what would have happened had Smith scored past Walton that afternoon; whether Ipswich would have gone on that run, whether Wednesday would have gone on to win the title as was expected at the time. There would have certainly been no Miracle of Hillsborough and no Great Escape.
But had the Owls been promoted in a more dominant fashion, had Darren Moore stayed on to build on the momentum created that May, it seems highly improbable that the structures around the football side of Hillsborough would have been able to sustain the sort of success that has been earned at Ipswich.
“He’s a good guy and he was asking me questions before the last game and this one,” McKenna said. “We’re going to catch up in the international break. He’s hopefully now looking to start a journey with this club and looking at how to rebuild it. There will be some differences but there will also be similarities to what Ipswich have done over the last few years that he might want, so I’m happy to share any of our lessons - positive or negative.”
Though they are only words for now, Arise have spoken about a pursuit of long-termism and improvement on that front. Pedersen’s notebook would make for interesting reading when he returns from Suffolk.