Why ‘senior players group’ has long been disbanded at Sheffield Wednesday – with Barry Bannan chats detailed

The Sheffield Wednesday manager, at the outset of his third year at the club and hunting down a first league title for the club in 64 years, is always on the blower.

In press conferences, his phone sits beside him – and though he’s never remotely rude and wouldn’t dream of breaking off to answer, there has been the very occasional glance down at a text or message.

During the transfer window he told reporters he had over 200 calls to return from managers, directors and the great, the good and the not so good of the football agency game.

It’s been noted he seems to know everybody in the industry from kit men to chairman via England internationals and League Two journeymen and it’s little wonder, given his personable attitude and commitment to communication.

Darren Moore – a vision of calm whether there’s a microphone under his chin or not – is a busy man, constantly juggling the enquiries of other busy people.

But at Middlewood Road his door is always open. He has attempted, he says, to cultivate a culture whereby every player is treated the same.

‘Senior players groups’, favoured by Owls managers in years gone by – designed to ensure a line of communication from the squad through more experienced faces and to the manager's office – are a thing of the past. Man-to-man chinwags are the way he looks to go.

“Everybody is on the same page, no matter what age you are; whether you are an older player or a younger player. I don’t care how old you are,” Moore explained to The Star.

“I like them to come and see me. It adds leadership to them. To take ownership of a situation and come and speak to me. It’s not about sending the captain in or sending a senior player group in. No, the younger players can come and knock on my door to see me.

“That gives them ownership in terms of where they are at as an individual, whatever they want to speak to me privately about.

“It works. I feel I have that balance right across the board and that the players feel they can approach me with anything. That’s really important.”

There are one or two players that naturally spend more time in conversation with Moore, of course and Barry Bannan is top of that list in his role as captain.

The Scot is a man approaching – only approaching – the twilight of his career as a player and has already discussed ambitions to go into management. His captaincy experience at S6 has built his player management and communication skills and aside from the old school roles of a club skipper he blends the lines between the squad and the coaching staff.

His class as a player delivers obvious respect from his peers but his journey as a leader off the field has naturally grown and grown since taking over from Tom Lees at Garry Monk’s invitation in 2020.

Communication between Bannan and Moore is constant.

“Sometimes we speak weekly, sometimes it is more ad-hoc,” Moore said. “We catch up in the canteen, on the training ground, sometimes one-on-one in the office, it can be a phonecall or a WhatsApp message.

“We’ve got all those communication links and there won’t be many days pass by that we don’t have a chat.

“We spoke this morning about a couple of dynamics with the boys and what it is we’re seeing. I want to be on the same page as my players in terms of relaying my messages.”

Though Wednesday players know the door to Moore’s office is revolving, there are times a group thought is passed on through Bannan and his one-to-one talks with Moore, according to Michael Smith.

An experienced campaigner himself, the Geordie target man spoke glowingly of the role his skipper plays on that front.

“He’s a captain that really bridges the gap between the players and the staff really well,” he said. “He’ll go and speak to the manager on behalf of the lads if there’s something collective we want to discuss or if any of the lads are upset about anything. He’s an excellent captain in terms of that.

“It’s massive to have players like that; Baz and Palms [vice-captain Liam Palmer], to have the knowledge and experience of how a club works and what it means to the city of Sheffield.

“They’ve been here and done it, they’ve seen the dark times and you can see the passion they have. I saw a picture of the two of them in front of the travelling support the other week and you could see the comments beneath from Wednesday fans. There’s a real connection there.

“They’ve been through those hard times with the supporters and it’s important to have had that experience in the changing room I think.”

With the third tier title still very much in their hands, every sign is that those dark days may well be coming to an end.

And it’s Bannan that has been central to that – through the mad, bad summer of 2021 to the title charge of 2023.

Moore said: “Baz has been a real catalyst for this football club. He had a chance to leave to go to the Championship but he was so sewn-on and committed to the football club. He’s been majestic in his work.

“But then there’s his leadership off the pitch as well. His vocabulary around the place, he’s a real talisman.

“When I speak about the culture and mentality around the players that might have been here before, Baz is one that is spot on in terms of his culture and mentality. He drives it.”

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