Sheffield Wednesday: Too much of a good thing – Joe Crann’s column

You’d expect no less of Darren Moore… He’s a man who gives respect to everybody – whether it’s the opposition, the kitchen staff, the stewards, or the many people who stop him to ask for a photo.

So you’re never going to hear him say Wednesday ‘should’ be beating anybody, it’s just not his way. But is there a case for the Owls boss overthinking things a little bit? Possibly.

Wednesday have no given right to be beating anybody in League One. They’re there for a reason, and – as the saying goes – have to earn the right to play before they can start getting the results they require.

But while the Owls don’t just deserve to beat teams based on their name, or history, or impressive away following – I do think there’s an element of arrogance that they should be taking into games, especially against opposition who, on paper at least, don’t have the same amount of quality that they have.

The game isn’t played on paper, obviously, but when you look at Wednesday’s squad there are a lot of players that were playing in the Championship last season, and there are others who have proven quality in League One.

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Opposition managers speak of the ability at Moore’s disposal – Michael Duff has done it before the Cheltenham Town game again this week – but, other than in small patches, we’ve not seen that quality shine through the way that it probably should be.

The term ‘taking the shackles off’ is probably a bit overused, and I’m not sure in Wednesday’s case that it’s ‘shackles’ per se – I just think there’s something to be said for worrying less about how the opposition can hurt you, and focusing more on what you can do to hurt them.

Because Wednesday have the players to hurt teams in this league, there’s no doubt about that. Moore just needs to find the best way to do that – and maybe that’s more about us than them.

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