Sheffield Wednesday still have bad habits to break despite smashing records - Alan Biggs

And it’s one Sheffield Wednesday are having to address, albeit from a position of strength.

How to win a game of football without a clean sheet - of which there have been a club record 21 across the season. Which is admirable and reflects on the team as a whole, not just the defence. Commendably also, they have won all but two of those games (goalless draws with Derby and Oxford).

On the other hand, in the 16 games without a clean sheet Wednesday have won just four.

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Writing ahead of Cheltenham away in midweek, it’s also worth noting that 11 of those 21 shut-out matches were won by just a single goal. Nothing wrong with that at face value. However, the margin for error has been slim and, much as a few well-oiled wheels have come off at the back recently, the defence deserves a break.

Ok, there was blame for Bolton’s goal in the 1-1 draw at the start of this mini-blip, certainly for at least two of Barnsley’s in the 4-2 defeat at Oakwell and there was vulnerability again in the shocker at Forest Green last Sunday. Yet this is as normal at some stage as the clean sheet record is abnormal.

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I’ve felt for some time that Darren Moore’s team are not creating and scoring as much as they should with the quality and experience they have, again allowing that this is a team effort.

Looking at those 21 clean sheet matches, only in eight have the Owls scored more than once. There have been two “fives” and three “threes” among them.

Even factoring those in, the haul is a much less than prolific 36 goals in those 21. But this is not to denigrate a huge and impressive collective effort. Clearly, Wednesday are badly missing two big sparking elements in George Byers and Josh Windass currently. That’s unfortunate and bad timing. But they have to find another way, certainly show more urgency than in the meandering no-show at Forest Green.

Going more direct to a front line lacking pace without Windass, and less passing across the back, is one option.

Whatever, I still believe they have the character and ability to pull round and keep the blip as just that.

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