The Sheffield Wednesday ship is on rocky waters, but at least they have the right captain – Joe Crann’s column

There’s been unpaid wages, there’s a transfer embargo, there’s no new signings yet, and – as things stand – there’s not been too much to be positive about for Wednesdayites.

But as the new season draws closer, there is one thing that fans pretty much unanimously agree on – and that is that Darren Moore is exactly the sort of manager that the club needs right now.

He’s not had it easy, that’s for sure. Moore came into a club that already had one foot in League One, and now, as he looks to rebuild following a number of exits over the summer, he and his recruitment team have been a bit hamstrung by what’s going on in the background.

But for me, it’s about trust the process with the gaffer now. When the transfer situation is sorted and some new faces start coming through the door, I think Moore has earned the right to be trusted…

He knows League One, he was well on course to push for promotion out of it before leaving Doncaster Rovers, and he knows the sort of players that he wants in order to try and get out of it at the first time of asking.

As I’ve written in a previous column, the Owls are fishing in a different pond now. Following relegation into the third tier and changing of work permit rules, it’s unlikely that the departing foreign players will be replaced with new foreign players – I’d expect it to be a very British-looking window for the Owls.

And on top of that, there’s probably going to be players that some fans aren’t sure on, that they either don’t know or don’t rate, but that’s where there’s got to be some trust given to the manager – let him do his thing and try to get behind what he’s doing.

Alongside David Downes, Moore is front and centre in the Owls’ recruitment drive this summer, and he’s doing his best in trying circumstances to get the job done. He’s stuck with the club despite everything going on behind the scenes, and he’s an ambitious man – so you best believe that he wants a big season in 2021/22 if possible.

I’ve spent a lot of time talking to various people in the game about Moore since his arrival at S6, and I’m yet to hear anybody with a bad word to say about him. People like working with him, and players like playing for him, and that’s a great combination to have.

As time goes on and preseason approaches, I’m hearing more positive whispers than negative ones, and if the off-the-field issues get sorted then some real progress can be made.

The waters may be rocky, but in Darren Moore the Owls have a captain who I think can steady the ship.

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