Henrik Pedersen is in an impossible position at Sheffield Wednesday - now is not the time to judge him
Henrik Pedersen is trying his very best to make the best of a bad situation at Sheffield Wednesday.
‘Meet the man with the game’s hardest job’ was the headline above an exclusive interview with Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen in Saturday’s edition of the Daily Mail.
In an era where some headlines, either in print or online, can be dramatised for effect, it was impossible to disagree with that one. Pedersen currently finds himself in a position no football manager should ever find themselves in - and not one ounce of it is his fault.
Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Ipswich Town marked his 15th defeat in 24 games as Wednesday boss in league and cup. If all was rosy off the pitch, the Dane would have cleared his office a long time ago.
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However, nothing is rosy in Wednesday’s world right now. As a result of former owner Dejphon Chansiri’s failings and his refusal to sell the club for a realistic valuation earlier this year, Wednesday find themselves bottom of the Championship table on -9 with a threadbare squad having won just one league game so far this season.
Wednesdayites, both young and old, had written this campaign off before the first ball had even been kicked, acknowledging the scale of the damage Chansiri had overseen during the summer, but it has not made the reality of watching their team lose most weekends any easier. It has become tiresome, and the chances are it is only going to get worse.
After travelling to Portman Road at the weekend without a series of first-team players due to injuries and international call-ups, the last thing Pedersen needed, especially ahead of the hectic Christmas period, was any additional concerns. Unfortunately for him, Dominic Iorfa, Max Lowe and Charlie McNeill all trudged off during the second half, meaning question marks surround their availability ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Hull City at Hillsborough on Friday.
Wednesday, including last season’s loanees, lost 16 first-team players during the summer and were only able to replace them with two - one of whom was Ethan Horvath, who arrived on an emergency loan deal after first-choice goalkeeper Pierce Charles required shoulder surgery and left the club without a senior shot-stopper.
The impact of losing almost 20 players and bringing in only two replacements would be felt by any club at any level of the game. Unfortunately for Wednesday, they have experienced that particular pinch in one of the world’s most demanding and intensive divisions.
Wednesday, now more than ever, are down to the bare-bones. Youngsters have filled out the bench all season to ensure Pedersen has been able to name a full-sized matchday squad, but they now look set to be parachuted into the starting XI to make up for the growing list of absentees over Christmas.
However, for a very, very small minority on social media, enough is enough. Calls for Pedersen to go have slowly started to surface in the last few weeks. Such calls have been shot down by the majority of Wednesdayites, but the fact some are starting to suggest Pedersen needs to go does call for a reminder of the situation Wednesday are in and why they are in it.
The Owls are in the mess they are in because of one man: Chansiri. He has left the club in a situation no club should ever find itself in. It is soul-destroying to watch, and no set of supporters should ever have to witness their club go through such a distressing period.
With both hands tied behind his back, Pedersen, to his credit, has managed to get more out of his squad than some people thought would be possible. Having 18 points deducted has, of course, put pay to even the faintest hopes of survival, and Wednesday would have still been 12 points from safety without those two deductions, but they have been a lot more competitive than many anticipated.
For instance, Wednesday were seconds away from beating Birmingham City (2-2) and Watford (1-1). They were unfortunate to come out of their clashes with Leicester City (1-2), Middlesbrough (0-1), Oxford United (1-2), Millwall (0-1) and Preston North End (2-3) empty-handed. They were also unfortunate not to beat QPR (1-1) and Norwich City (1-1) at Hillsborough.
Has Pedersen been perfect with his tactical approach in every game? No, and he would probably be the first person to accept that. There have been a cluster of forgettable performances where Wednesday, regardless of their current situation, have let themselves down. The Steel City derby defeat to Sheffield United is the most obvious example.
However, it is understood Pedersen is continuing to plan for every game as though Wednesday are pushing for promotion. The level of detail in his planning is sky-high, and that is a reflection of the professionalism and determination of a man who stepped into a perilous position during the summer when nobody else would have touched it with a barge pole.
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Pedersen is a down to earth individual who deserves a great deal of respect for agreeing to take the job in the first place. He cares deeply about Wednesday and has ambitions of succeeding in S6 with the right backing.
Until that comes along, though, he has no chance of doing so, and it is all down to one man. Working with a squad that is rapidly getting even smaller and is bereft of confidence, it is hardly surprising Pedersen’s job had been dubbed as the hardest in the game right now.