What Sheffield Wednesday can learn from play-off contenders Brentford, Fulham, Cardiff and Swansea

A huge disappointment for all involved and with the season now over, all that’s left to settle from a Championship point of view is who goes up with Leeds United and West Brom.

There is plenty to learn from those that made it; Brentford, Fulham, Cardiff and Swansea. Let’s look at one thing Garry Monk and Wednesday can take from each.

Brentford – just about everything

They’re the doyennes of the Championship right now, and rightly so. Thomas Frank’s Brentford are a joy to watch having taken a road less travelled in terms of how to run a football club.

But there are two main things Wednesday can take from Brentford; recruitment and knowing when to sell.

The London club have one of the most sophisticated scouting systems in Europe, finding the likes of Saïd Benrahma for a pittance, and sell for huge profits. Wednesday have done far too little of both in recent times.

Fulham – how to rebuild

A bloated squad, underperforming players on high wages and a side lacking cohesion; you could be talking about Wednesday just a few weeks ago or indeed the Fulham side so rudely thrown out of the Premier League in the 2018/19 season.

Continued parachute payments mean the Cottagers are working in a different financial universe to the Owls, but it has to be said they have done incredibly well to shed some dead weight and move towards a side built for the Championship.

Garry Monk’s ‘young, hungry, dynamic’ mantra is there in the most part throughout the Fulham side – along with the notable inclusion of a number of top, experienced pros – and Scott Parker has them playing good, attractive football.

Now if Wednesday could just find their Aleksander Mitrovic..

Cardiff – how to win

Winning; the holy grail and sole objective of any football team.

In terms of style of play, old school football people would argue it doesn’t matter how a team gets there – these days it does – and Neil Harris’ Cardiff have hot the job done without being flashy or particularly easy on the eye.

He stepped into the shoes of Neil Warnock, of course, who for all his pantomime villainy is to be respected for his serial-winner mentality. It bleeds through every pore of Cardiff, who have a steel and mentality the Owls can and should take inspiration from.

Swansea – loan well

There are a many great things to admire about the job Steve Cooper has done at Swansea, not least in getting the most out of Andre Ayew, building of the style of play built by Graham Potter and getting the best out of young players.

But it was the introduction of Liverpool forward Rhian Brewster that ultimately inspired their late surge into the playoff places. Add to him the goalkeeping quality of Newcastle’s Freddie Woodman, box-to-box Chelsea youngster Conor Gallagher and defensive lynchpin Ben Wilmot of Watford, and you’ve got a masterclass on how to manipulate the loan market.

On Wednesday’s likely budget next time out, it’s an example they must follow.

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