Player Ratings Sheffield Wednesday vs Colchester United

Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Colchester United


Richard O'Donnell, 7- Shot stopping was impressive and so was his ability to come off his line, however his kicking was poor and needs improving, as it is such a vital part of the game these days.

Jon Otsemobor, 9- Fantastic game from the full back, considering it was his first 90 minutes for a good few months. Good defensively and impressive going forward, great cross for Mellor's second goal.

Danny Batth, 8- Looks solid all game and commanding both in the air and in the tackle, hasn't done much wrong since signing on loan for the Owls, looks like a real prospect.

Reda Johnson, 7- Won every single header that came his way, still a little shaky at times but all round play was impressive.

Lewis Buxton, 8- Another fantastic return to action for an Owl. Buxton look comfortable with both feet at left back and linked well with Jermaine Johnson and Gary Teale.

Gary Teale, 6- Still hasn't played particularly well in a Wednesday shirt for a while, but did some good work defensively and looks good when he didn't dwell on the ball.

James O'Connor, 8- Good hearty performance from Jimmy which we haven't seen from him for a while, gave their midfield no time to maneuver the ball and got his foot in where it was needed.

Tommy Miller, 6- Relatively Solid performance, but didn't have one of his better days. gave the ball away far too many times with stupid flicks that hardly ever payed off.

Jermaine Johnson, 8- As always Jermaine Johnson looked dangerous for the Owls, and for once his distribution and final ball were good, lost the ball a few times, but only when trying to beat his man, which is what we all want from JJ!

Gary Madine, 5- Probably his least affective game in blue and white. Very good first touch and aerial ability, however when he had the ball at his feet, he seemed to constantly misplace passed or dwell on the ball, only had a single chance at the back post with a diving header.

Neil Mellor, 8- Mellor looked his old self again and continued to impress with his statistics. Thats 25 starts and 16 goals for Neil Mellor this season. However missed a sitter towards the end and should have completed his third hat-trick of the season.

Substitutes

Chris Sedgwick, 7- put in a couple of decent crosses when he came on and played a solid 15 minutes.

Giles Coke, 6- Didn't have enough time to make a real impact on the game, but good to see him fit and back on the field of play.

Owls look to raid Hammers rejects

According to the mail online, Gary Megson is trying to secure the loan signings of West Ham misfits Benni Mccarthey and Herita Ilunga. McCarthy has failed to impress for the hammers but was no so long ago one of the hottest properties in the Premier League. Whereas Ilunga has been taken out of the Hammers squad which means he is ineligible to play in the Premier League for the rest of the season, making a loan move elsewhere the likelihood for the Congolese left back. Apparently Megson has been given permission by Milan Mandaric to cover the bulk of the players wages and Megson is reported to have said 'We are trying to get both players in and the two clubs have been in dialogue for a few days.'

Ambitious attempted loan signings from Gary Megson which could work a treat especially with the Owls crying out for a new left back. McCarthy could add an extra threat up front, if the rumours are true, a gamble is certainly what this attempt would be called, but if it comes off, and pays off, Megson is a genius. This news comes after a positive result on the south coast which sees the Owls keep their first clean sheet in 12. More and more optimism is growing under Gary Megson as he continues to experiment with formation and selection and give the players the harsh reality check they truly needed!

Welcome distraction comes to an end (positives still to be taken!)

The Owl's run in the F.A cup, which has been our best for many years has been an appreciated distraction for all Wednesday fans. The dismal form in the league has led to many supporters leaving all hope of success with the magical F.A cup. Wednesday had looked a different side in the cup especially in their visit it to Ashton gate, where they comprehensively defeated Championship strugglers Bristol City. That fourth round tie set up a fixture with Premier League opponents Birmingham City, who have already filled themselves with cup glory this season and were looking for a repeat performance of their Carling Cup journey. However bad the recent League one form may have been for the Owls, there was still a small, reserved sense of hope of the cup class at St Andrews, after all anything can happen in the F.A cup. However for me that optimism was as per usual shattered just by reading the team selection. I traveled down to Tranmere with 3000 Wednesday faithful on Tuesday night and was along with everyone else appalled a the lack of grit and incompetent defending shown by the Owls at Prenton Park. The performances of Tommy Spurr, Mark Reynolds and Michael Morrison were particularly disappointing and lackluster. Spurr was once again played out of position and was responsible for the first two goals in the 3-0 defeat and Morrison and Reynolds were once again poor, particularly in their distribution from the back. To my shock, once again those three names were starting in the same positions at St Andrews, three players very low on confidence had once again been picked when a perfect opportunity for mixing things up had come about. This poor tactical decision was realised by Megson within 25 minutes as the Owls were 2-0 down due to horrendous defending from Reynolds firstly and Morrison secondly. Megson brought on Richard hinds for only his second outing of the season. Tommy Spurr was moved back to left back, a position he is slightly more comfortable in and at half time the changes developed further. Morrison was replaced after a 9th successive poor game by Mark Beevers and James O'Connor was replaced by the lively Liam Palmer. That didn't stop the Owls letting in one more goal in the second half and letting Birmingham cruise home to the quarter final.

However amongst the negatives of team selection and poor player performance, there were definitely some positives to take home from the long journey. The first success that came out of the game was indeed the performance of Richard Hinds, who has been completely out casted by Alan Irvine all season. He looked far more comfortable than Tommy Spurr at right back  and played solidly against a Premier League side in only his second appearance of the season. Furthermore, another of the substitutes Liam Palmer looked incredibly comfortable and confident on the ball. Palmer played pass after pass and was not afraid to move with the ball at his feet, which is a welcome change after watching weeks of James O'Connor and Darren Potter get rid of the ball as fast as they can. Palmer must surely be close to a starting role, with another poor performance from O'Connor. Another real positive to take out of the game was the overall defending on the back four in the second half especially Reda Johnson who looked a class act at St Andrews. Finally, the man who impressed most for Wednesday for the second successive game was Isaiah Osbourne, who once again as he did at Prenton Park, broke up play and added extra physical presence to the midfield. Osbourne has looked really comfortable in a low confidence side over the past two games and his signing could turn out to be an incredibly positive one.

I watched Birmingham game on the internet because I couldn't make it down their myself yesterday and this is how I would rate the performances of the players.

Nicky Weaver, 6- Didn't have an awful lot to do, and hasn't been his flying, shot stopping self in recent weeks, also conceded another three goals, however none of them were his own fault.

Tommy Spurr, 5- really poor going forward, crossing was absolutely atrocious, looked far more comfortable defensively when he was switched to left back.

Reda Johnson, 8- Looked a class act and the shining light in the Owls defense, especially in the second half, won everything in the air.

Michael Morrison, 4- Once again very poor, at fault for the second goal, does not look comfortable at right back or center back and was substituted at half time by Megson.

Mark Reynolds, 4- Also poor, was substituted half way through the second half because it quite simply wasn't working, in my opinion he isn't a left back and hasn't been given a fair run at center back.

Gary Teale, 6- Looked a constant threat but his final ball was horrendous, as was the rest of the teams.

Isaiah Osbourne, 8- once again looked composed and strong in the tackle, looks a good signing so far.

James O'Connor, 3- ineffectual, another disgraceful performance from JOC, surely can't keep his place in the starting line up for another week

Daniel Jones, 6- Jones didn't get in the game as much as he would have liked, however he looked dangerous when he was involved.

Neil Mellor, 5- Something has changed for the Owls top scorer, has looked the same since his injury, continues to look more and more lazy every week.

Clinton Morrison, 5- Didn't have the best of games against his former club, missed a sitter in the closing moments but didn't cause the Birmingham defense any other problems.

Substitutes

Liam Palmer, 8- Looked incredibly promising, comfortable on the ball and a good passer

Mark Beevers, 7- Couldn't fault him when he came on, can't imagine him partnering Reda Johnson at Center back though, they are too similar players.

Richard Hinds, 7- Did very well considering the circumstances, too slow to play right back week in week out though, but very good cover option.

Tommy Spurr, am I the only one watching?

It's been a while since I wrote an article, but I just can't hold in this outburst any longer. My depression and lack of desire to talk about football has transformed in anger and contempt for some Sheffield Wednesday players. The player that angers me more than anyone is the incompetent, predictable and frankly quite embarrassing Tommy Spurr. When Spurr was finally dropped a few months back I was overjoyed at not having to watch him give ball after ball away and foul or ignore the presence of some quite honestly poor wingers in league one. At this time Tommy Spurr was playing in his favoured position at left back and was getting ripped up weak in weak out by the likes of Brentford's Myles Weston, who are very standard league one Wingers, and Spurr seems to make them look like Super stars. Wednesday have been awful defensively in recent months and that has called for Tommy Spurr to be brought back into the side.  For the last two games, Tranmere on Tuesday and Birmingham today, Spurr has been positioned at right back. For me Spurr is the worst left back in League one, constantly letting wingers past him and in behind him or instead taking them out with embarrassing fouls that just show his complete lack of ability. Spurr is also one of the most predictable and worst passers of the ball I have seen in a Wednesday shirt, constantly hoofing it up the line and out of play, and when in the opponents final third he cannot cross a ball to save his life. This shown quite brutally in his attempts of crossing in the first half at St Andrews. Twice Spurr found himself in promising positions on the left and twice he fluffed crosses to the first man with no pace or whip to be seen on the ball. Spurr had one good year for the Owls, in which he managed to consistently defend properly and some how has become a favourite and a regular at Hillsborough, he even attracted interest from Championship leaders QPR. All I can say is how I wish we'd cash in when we had the chance, because if any scout saw him play now, they would tell their club to stay well clear of the hopeless full back.

For me what makes it so much worse, is the fact that three Wednesday managers have failed to spot his poor play and continued to play him in and out of position. It is sometimes embarrassing when the likes of Richard Hinds get one game in a whole season because players like Tommy Spurr are apparently capable enough to play out of position, when in reality he cannot even play in his favoured position. Some may criticize my opinion, because of our lack of other options in Spurr's position, but Daniel Jones has come in, in the summer and fair enough he isn't the best defensive option at left back, but he is at least as competent as Spurr at defending. His attacking play is by far superior and yet one bad game from Jones sees him dropped, 30 from Spurr sees him applauded for his effort. Effort counts for nothing when you don't have the ability. I can only be critical of the manager's selections as the other option we have persisted to use at left back is Mark Reynolds. Reynolds was signed as an impressive centre half and only Wednesday would play him in a weaker position until he is dropped for poor performance. With Michael Morrison yet to play a half decent game in a Wednesday shirt, surely it is time to give Reynolds a decent run in the team at Centre Back and put Jones back in a position where he has excelled far better than both Reynolds and Spurr all season. In my opinion Spurr ranks with some of the worst we have seen down at S6, personally I think Leon Clarke made more of a positive impact. For me Spurr's time at Wednesday has got to be coming to an end, if any club comes in for him, Megson should snap their hands off and sign a decent replacement when he has the chance, because I am honestly fed up of seeing Tommy Spurr's name on the team sheet, whether he is playing right back or left back, it just isn't acceptable, lets see some change please Megson, god knows we need it.

Sheffield Wednesday 2-2 MK Dons

The weekend saw the beginning of another new era at Sheffield Wednesday, new manager Gary Megson who was appointed just the day before the game, was there to watch and spur on his new players. I think it's safe to say most Owls fans are happy with the new managers appointment, but like any choice, he was not everyones favorite candidate for the Hillsborough post. Before the game in an interview with the Yorkshire Post, Megson admitted "I'm going to have to be part of it this weekend. I am not the type that likes to sit and watch from the director's box". Wednesday fans could already sense a hands on approach from a man who had followed his fathers foot steps making himself a legend by playing In a Wednesday Shirt. Megson racked up 233 appearances for the Owls, in two different spells, making himself a fans favourite in the defensive midfield role, which he was highly regarded for throughout his career. Megson managerial career has been rather hit and miss so far, with a fantastic four year spell at West Brom followed by a rather unconvincing period as manager of Nottingham Forest, in which they were relegated to the third tier of English football. Megson also has Premier League experience as a manger with both West Brom and more recently Bolton for whom he managed 99 games in the Premier League. Unfortunately, because Megson wasn't the first managerial choice of either the club or the supporters at the Reebok Stadium, he was never really given much of a chance and much of his good work, was undermined by the lack of acceptance and support from Bolton Fans. Megson has been out of the game for over a year now and was eager to get back into football, especially with the club he has supported as a boy. On the official Sheffield Wednesday website an interview with Megson revealed his delight at managing the club and Working under Milan Mandaric once more. "Managing Sheffield Wednesday is something I have always wanted to do and I am absolutely delighted", Megson also acknowledged the difficulty of the task that he was faced with "The job itself is a tough job - ordinarily you would want to be managing Sheffield Wednesday in a division where you think the club should be but we are where we are and now we want to try and get it moving forward as quickly as we can."


Megson's reign as the Owls boss comes right in the middle of a dire run of form. Despite a positive start from Wednesday at the Weekend, they were once again a goal down at Hillsborough with less than 20 minutes played. Keanu Marsh-Brown was played through on goal and beat Arron Jameson to the ball, only for the young keeper, making his second start of the season for the Owls, to bring him down. Jameson was only booked for the penalty, which may well have been a red card on another day. Jameson very nearly took advantage of his fortune by coming close to stopping Peter Leven's low hard strike to the Youngsters left, but it was not to be. Jameson made his only other appearance this season, in the reverse fixture as Stadium MK where Wednesday came away 4-1 winners, Jameson impressing on his debut. Wednesday then looked rocked and could not get back into the good play that saw them on top in the early stages of the game. Just nine minutes later MK Dons took advantage of some more slack Wednesday defending, Michael Morrison gave his man far too much room to get a cross in, which was flicked home by Daniel Powell. Unfortunately for Wednesday an imposing, powerful home debut from Reda Johnson has yet to be repeated at Hillsborough, Alan Irvine strengthened the defense in the transfer window and his signings are so far yet to impress. Johnson is clearly very strong and powerful in the air both in his own box and the opponents box, but he lacks co-ordination and composure from what I have seen so far. Michael Morrison has failed to inspire since his move from Leicester City and has looked awkward most of the time. Hopefully for the Wednesday faithful, the current defensive lapse is due to an almost entirely new back four being strung together, and sooner or later things will come good for the new signings.


Alternatively, Wednesday new front man Gary Madine has continually impressed for the Owls since his move from Carlisle. Madine had scored 2 in 3 before Saturday's game at MK Dons and for the first 25 minutes once more looked very composed and showed off his great touch for Wednesday. After Wednesday went 2-0 down Madine looked much quieter, probably through no fault of his own as the big target man was surrounded by players low on confidence and lacking the quality needed in the final third. Wednesday went in 2-0 down at half-time and failed to look threatening in their attempt to get a goal back, the only sign of Wednesday coming close to a goal came from James O'Connor who clipped the crossbar with a strike from the edge of the penalty area. Wednesday were given a glimmer of hope at the end of the first half, with Gary Mackenzie clumsily pulling back Clinton Morrison on the half way line, with Mackenzie already on a booking he had to walk back down the tunnel. Changed certainly needed to be made and Gary Megson, although not in charge of team affairs on the day, could not help getting involved in the half-time team talk. Gary Madine ended up being replaced at half-time, surely suggesting he must have picked up a knock in the first half, and Gary Teale also came off after a lack-luster first half performance. Neil Mellor and Paul Heffernan took to the field, and bizarrely Jermaine Johnson moved into a central role, leaving four attackers on the pitch and no wingers to supply the service. Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come for Wednesday, as I doubt many Wednesdayites want to see Wednesday play the long ball game under Gary Megson. The tactics once again looked peculiar as Wednesday chased the game, finally Wednesday pulled a goal back mid way through the second half with arguably Wednesday's man of the match, going on a mesmerizing run before flicking through Neil Mellor, who calmly slotted the ball past the Dons Keeper, Martin. Wednesday then kept the pressure up for a while, but continued to be frustrated as the lack of wingers on the pitch for the Owls, made the job far more comfortable for the MK Dons defense. Having said this Wednesday continued to look a threat from corners, especially Giles Cokes corners from the right, which eventually saw success. in the 83rd minute Coke played a ball in which was flicked toward the back post by Neil Mellor, Clinton Morrison was standing unmarked and with his back faced to goal volleyed home impressively. Hillsborough began to raise the roof as expectation and momentum built, and just a minute later Owls fans were given even more to cheer about. The Dons had a rare attacking free kick, which was whipped in to the back post towards two completely unmarked men, one of which Hammered the ball towards goal from 5 yards out only to be foiled by a fantastic finger tip save from youngster Jameson. He tipped the ball onto the bar and then watched his defenders make up for their awful marking by clearing their lines well. Within seconds Wednesday were on the counter attack and Daniel Jones had been played clean through, two covering defenders tried to track back, but Jones' pace proved too much for them and goal scorer Leven brought down Jones and was issued a second yellow card. Wednesday had 6 minutes remaining to grab all three points, and Giles Coke was ever so close to doing so, his strike struck the outside of the post with just a few minutes left. Wednesday attacks were now coming wave after wave and a high ball towards Neil Mellor looked promising before he was bundled over, for what looked like a cast iron penalty. The referee waved away Wednesday's loud appeals to the dismay of the supporters and players. Stoppage town was now upon the Owls and one last attack was on the cards, Paul Heffernan  was put clean through on goal, and was again blatantly taken out by an MK Dons defender. But miraculously the decision was not given, and this time, Clinton Morrison could not hide his discontent, following the referee down the field, arguing his case in vain, with the only outcome a yellow card for the Owls front man.

The final Whistle came about and for the 3rd home league in a row Wednesday had drawn 2-2 against their league one opponents. This time Wednesday will feel unjust because of the manner of their defeat, but they can have no complaints about referees at Hillsborough in recent matches who have reduced two times to 9 men in the last few weeks. Neither time have Wednesday been able to capitalise, highlighting the need for urgent change. The truth is, we probably should have come away with victory against MK Dons but poor defending and lack of a creative edge up front has caused the Owls to be on a prolonged winless streak. One thing for sure, is that new manager Gary Megson has his hands full, with high expectations still surrounding Hillsborough since the investment from Milan Mandaric, who is yet to see Wednesday win a League One fixture under his reign.

Player Ratings

Arron Jameson - 7, he was unlucky to concede the penalty which was largely down to poor defending and saved a point for the Owls with a magnificent save, however his kicking was at times poor in difficult conditions.

Lewis Buxton- 6, still didn't look 100% match fit and made a couple of errors, but in all fairness in the second half he was playing as a right winger, which is certainly not his most comfortable position.

Michael Morrison- 5, still finding his feet for the Owls, looked unsettled and nervy and his slack defending was the cause for the second goal, only positive was once again his demonstration that he is a very good tackler.

Reda Johnson- 5, had his first poor game in an Owls shirt at Hillsborough, MK Dons weren't exactly enthralling to watch going forward, but still made Johnson and his CB partner look awkward a lot of the time, also kept giving away silly fouls, which caused problems for the Owls.

Daniel Jones- 7, looked very comfortable going forward in the second half, and made a terrific run to get Leven sent off, still didn't look good defensively at times.

Jermaine Johnson- 6, first half saw him look both lively and frustrating as we often see with Jermaine, but always possesses a threat to opposing defenders. Second half saw him in a much more central role, Johnson thrives in space, playing him along side 3 other attackers was never going to work, and saw him play an ineffectual role in the second half.

Giles Coke- 8, very impressive again for the Owls, was playing like he was at the beginning of the season. Inspiring runs and hard working back tracking as well. Unfortunately lack of similar influence around him, stopped him having such an effect on the game.

James O'Connor- 6, did what JOC always does, worked hard and got amongst the MK Dons midfielders, but once again lacked any quality with his passing, However he was unlucky to hit the bar from a lovely strike in the first half.

Gary Teale- 5, poor game from Teale, who often gives Wednesday the extra bit of class needed in this division. Teale's set pieces were poor and so was his general play, which saw him substituted at half time.

Gary Madine- 7, showed a very good touch and looked class on the ball as well as in the air for 25 minutes. Lacked much effect on the game towards the end of the second half, and was subsequently taken off.

Clinton Morrison- 7, Grabbed himself a well deserved goal, and continued to be as vocal as ever, at times was not involved as much as he would have liked to be.

Substitutes:

Neil Mellor- 7, gave Owls an extra option up front and grabbed a crucial goal
Paul Heffernan- 7, once again looked composed and should have won a penalty late on, offers an extra bit of class up front for Wednesday, hopefully Megson will see that much more than Alan Irvine ever did.

Breaking News

The Yorkshire are reporting that a press conference will be called at 5PM to announce Gary Megson as the new Sheffield Wednesday manager. good appointment if you ask me, loads of experience, blue and white in his blood.

http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/football/BREAKING-NEWSSheffield-Wednesday-appoint-Megson.6711388.jp

Irvine finally departs from Hillsborough and Wednesday's woeful run continues

This has been my first post for a week or so, I would put this partially down to my disillusion at the events on and off the pitch surrounding Sheffield Wednesday as well as general footballing events which have frustrated me. This week saw the close of the rather exhilarating transfer window, as well as the Owls reaching the fifth round of the F.A cup and once again letting in a collection of goals away from home, this time at promotion rivals Peterborough. Optimism at Hillsborough was at least for a short time restored with a comfortable 4-1 win over the side bottom of the football league, Hereford. Clinton Morrison did what Giles Coke couldn't do in the previous home game and slotted in two second half penalties. Darren Potter had equalised early on for the Owls with a lovely strike, before throwing a hissy-fit when he was substituted in the second half. Jermaine Johnson also continued his rich vein of form with a goal against the Bulls.

With the transfer window coming to an end not long after the 4th round tie, Milan Mandaric and Alan Irvine had some work to do, to get the targeted six playes in before the deadline. Isaiah Osbourne arrived at Hillsborough on loan until the end of the season from Aston Villa. Osbourne was once seen as a player with great potential under the management of Martin O'neill, but has struggled to get a look in under the reign of Gerard Houllier. Osbourne's contract at Villa Park expires at the end of the season, and if he impresses for the Owls he could earn himself a permanent deal at Hillsborough. Osbourne is known for his physicality and combative nature in the centre of the park, some Villa fans have been reluctant to hand out praise for the youngster, but in all fairness he is being compared to the likes of Albrighton and Abonglahor at Villa Park, who have set the premier league a light. With hours left in the January transfer window, Sheffield Wednesday made a move for the highly regarded Lee Cook. The deal looked almost certain to happen, but by the close of the window it had appeared that the player himself had pulled out, after all terms had been agreed. This brought the usual feeling of doom and gloom back to the Wednesday faithful, who felt that they had missed out on an exceeding promising winger, who could be the missing link in a Wednesday midfield which has lacked creative spark at the best of times.

A hectic week for Wednesday was already well under way, and Tuesday nights game at London Road, just added to the chaos currently surrounding the Owls. The evening started positively at London Road, in a game which had to be seen as a must win for both the club's chances of promotion and the manager's chances of survival. Wednesday were 1-0 up within 5 minutes as Jermaine Johnson continued to shine with a sparkling run down the left, he cut inside taking on two Peterborough defenders before smashing the ball home into the top corner. Wednesdays defence continued to look liable under pressure as it has done in the past few weeks and 5 minutes later Posh made it 1-1. Gary Madine continue his impressive start in a Wednesday shirt, by latching onto a loose ball before slotting his finish into the bottom corner, to make it 2 goals in 3 games for the Owls. Madine's goal sent the Wednesday faithful into raptures, only for them to be silenced once more, this time by the man of the match George Boyd, who I for one would love to see in a Wednesday Shirt. His sot crawled under Nicky Weaver who has certainly seen much better days in a Wednesday shirt. Neil Mellor who is currently not playing in the same manner as he was earlier In the season was hardly involved in the game, but with his first real contribution he played through Chris Sedgwick to smash home from a tight angle. Within the first 35 minutes there had been 5 goals in this match, and there was no sign of anything stopping those goals flowing in. Wednesday continued to impress going forward but still looked nervy at the back. In the 70th minute, last man Darren Potter failed to be Wednesday's knight in shining armour, he lunged in to take down the scorer of Posh' first goal Craig Mackail Smith. The referee deservedly sent Potter back down the tunnel for an early bath, leaving Wednesday really up against it for the final 20. Conversely to how Wednesday had reacted to the opposition having players sent off, nine days previous against Yeovil, Peterborough took full advantage of their extra man. Wednesday's defence crumbled and individual errors and lack of team moral effectively let Posh in to score 3 more goals with just 20 minutes remaining. An evening which had started so promisingly for Irvine and Wednesday had ended in disaster.

Wednesday left London Road just 5 points clear of the drop zone and 7 points away from the play-offs. Considering Alan Irvine's target was automatic promotion this season such a dramatic collapse into mid table was putting the manager under some serious pressure. The Hillsborough camp was quiet all day Wednesday, and rumours were doing the rounds that Irvine was on his way out of the exit door. Earlier this morning it was announced that Wednesday had parted company with the Scotsman and the search for a new manager was already under way. Although Irvine has shown desire and know how in the transfer market, results do not lie and neither do team selections weak in weak out. Some may say that Irvine had no chance under the wielding axe of Milan Mandaric but personally I believe any manager in his situation would have got the chop probably much sooner than Irvine did himself. Most Wednesday fans I'm sure will wish Alan good luck, but be thankful for at least some sort of change to the dire atmosphere surrounding S6. 

The names being linked with the Owls so far are Wednesday playing legend Gary Megson, former Peterborough and Bristol City boss, Gary Johnson as well as Kevin Keegan, Roy Keane and Chris Hughton. Tonight Milan Mandaric has told the media that he has also made contact with potential targets and has a shortlist of 4 managers, also confirming interest in previously mentioned, Megson. Personally the arrival of Megson would not upset me, but some Wednesday fans seem to be less keen, with the possibility of a big name manager coming in, due to Milan Mandaric's great footballing connections. This week could also see the arrival of 2 or 3 loan players which the new manager will get to bring in with funds from the Serbian chairman, rumours surround Lee Cook for whom a move may still be on the cards, as it is well known he would prefer a short term move to regain his fitness.

Who would you like to see manage Wednesday next? and who would you like to see the new manager bring in on loan to boost the squad? Here's to a new start for Sheffield Wednesday! UTO

The Premier League has gone mad!

Two more footballing events which do not involve our beloved club, but which I felt inclined to mention were concerning the events surrounding the Premier League at 11 O'clock on January the 31st. Andy Carroll made his switch from Newcastle to Liverpool for the outrageous fee of £35 million as well as future add ons. Carroll has scored 11 goals this year in his first season in the Premiership and has somehow commanded the humongous fee. The money being Splashed around in football is not only ridiculous, but in my view is ruining the game, The likes of Chelsea and Manchester City have made themselves title contenders, all down to a rich foreigner injecting huge sums of cash into the clubs. I can't help be feel a scorn for football clubs that go about their business in this manner. Now Liverpool have splashed over 60 million pounds on two strikers and Chelsea have spend over 70 million pounds in 1 day. These huge fees stop the progress of hard working clubs, looking to build a positive future. Just look what huge cash injections for transfer fees did for our famous club, Sheffield Wednesday. Wednesday have been left in the best part of 30 million pounds debt because of stupid over spending, only for us to be saved by our king, Mr Mandaric. The massive fees being branded around in the current transfer market also stop the growth of academy players and have a massive impact on our national squad, which has left me being disappointed every time an England squad is announced with the same names brought up each time.

 The second issue that came up in the media once more last week, was Blackpool's £25,000 fine for fielding a weakened team against Aston Villa. The same had happened to Wolves in the previous season. This year the F.A have introduced a 25 man squad system, the system allows a manager to pick 25 players to choose from whenever they need be. Surely this system means that a manager may use any member of his squad when it comes to match day, and to suggest that some players were more valuable in this system than others is ridiculous. Blackpool went on to lose to game 3-2 away from home against Aston Villa, clearly showing they certainly did not send out a bunch of useless footballers, but in fact very good footballers, who clearly played very well. The Premier League needs to change its ridiculous rule sooner rather than later, as it noticeably makes very little sense. All I can say is good on Holloway for putting up a fight and sticking to his word. Holloway even handed in his resignation to prove a point, but to the relief of the tangerine army, chairman, Mr Karl Oysten rejected the resignation and live goes on for the Seasiders.

JJ working hard to earn new contract

Jermaine Johnson has this morning revealed in an interview with the Yorkshire post, that he wants to stay at Sheffield Wednesday and is working hard to earn a new contract with the Owls. Brian Laws signed the Jamaican international in January 2007 from Bradford City for a fee in excess of £250,000. Johnson has gone on to make 119 appearances for the Owls, scoring 13 goals. The Jamaican has mesmerised and frustrated Wednesday fans constantly throughout his Wednesday career. He has shown flashes of exceptional talent and prolonged periods of lack of desire and motivation. Having said this the pacey Jamaican winger always has the ability to change a football match and scored some wonderful goals in a Wednesday shirt. This morning Johnson said, "I would love to stay but there have been no discussions and we don't know what the gaffer is doing yet." he added. "As a player, you always want to play high in the league and, when you are playing well, teams are going to come and look for you – but I want to stay and do well for this club." Johnson has lost his place in the team recently and some would say rather unjustly as however frustrating he may be, in this division Jermaine Johnson will always cause problems, because of his sheer pace and dynamic twisting runs. For me, offering Johnson a new contract is a must, letting him leave on a free transfer would  be criminal, and a team somewhere would be signing an absolute bargain. Johnson's age restrains him from bringing in a massive transfer fee also, but his pace doesn't seem to be dying any time soon. The only sensible option would be to offer him a contract and keep him playing at Hillsborough for many seasons to come, no matter how frustrating he may be. 

SWFC Vs Yeovil Town pre-match news

                  versus 






It has been an eventful few days down at Hillsborough, with Rumours flying round all over the place regarding Alan Irvine's supposed sacking or resignation and plenty of rumours about incoming players as well. After all the speculation about Irvine's future it turns out the main source of the rumour that he had in fact left Hillsborough, came from a fan, hacking a club staff email account. Yesterday Milan Mandaric came out and publicly backed Irvine in an interview with the BBC he said "I urge everyone - this is not the time for panic. This is the time for all of us to be together and get behind the team and give us a chance to get out of this league." Mandaric knows the disappointment and anger that a lot of the Wednesday fans are feeling right now, but he correctly states this is no time to panic. Mandaric has also stated "We'll bring two or three more players in to enhance the quality of the team and I believe results will be there." so Irvine significantly still has the financial backing of Mandaric. Some Wednesday fans are disappointed that Irvine has not left the club after the 4-0 hammering Wednesday received at Leyton Orient on Saturday. I am also disappointed with Irvine's performance in recent times and some of his tactics have left me scratching my head, but I am of the view that any manager deserves a season to prove what he's worth. Wednesday fans need to get behind the team and the manager and give Irvine a chance to spend his budget wisely in the next week. Then fans and Mandaric a like can cast a final judgement at the end of the season, depending on whether we are back in the second tier of English football or not. Personally I think Irvine needs to bring in a central midfielder, a left winger and a quick pacey striker, these components would make our team look more or less complete, and give us a real chance of getting back into the promotion race.


As for tonight's game, Yeovil Town find themselves 3rd from bottom in League one, but have ground out a run of decent form, unbeaten in five until they lost 1-0 at home to Rochdale on Saturday. Yeovil may be in the relegation zone but they are just a mere 8 points behind the Owls, showing the deterioration of the Owls recent league form and how tight this division truly is. It is a massive game at Hillsborough tonight, with Irvine's future possibly depending on the result and a chance for Yeovil to climb out of the relegation zone. Yeovil's recent good form which has seen them beat the likes of Swindon away, and Brentford and MK Dons at home has been down to some incredibly good defensive performances, they have kept an impressive 5 clean sheets in their last 6 matches. One man Wednesday need to look out for is the young defender Paul Huntington, who has been essential in the Glover's defensive success, but has also contributed going forward scoring goals in the games against Brentford and MK Dons. Another man Wednesday need to be aware of is Dean Bowditch who is the Glover's top scorer so far this season with 7 goals, including the winner at Swindon in recent weeks. Bowditch came through the highly regarded Ipswich academy and ended up playing 72 professional games for them. I expect Yeovil to play a tight defensive game against the Owls and try and frustrate us, as well as trying to snatch a goal or two on the counter.


Wednesday fans biggest grumbles have been about the negative tactics shown by Alan Irvine all season. I, for one would love to see Mr. Irvine play with two out and out wingers in Jermaine Johnson and Gary Teale. With the huge Gary Madine expected to start, balls regularly coming in from both flanks would be a massive  bonus. Another team selection, or should I say lack of team selection that has mystified Owls Fans is that of Paul Heffernan. He surely must start in tonight's game, as he at some point must be given a chance to show what he can do for 90 minutes, that he has done so prolifically before in this division, with the likes of Doncaster Rovers. Unfortunately for Wednesday, our most impressive central midfielder this year, Tommy Miller has been ruled out of Tonight's game through injury. Leaving much speculation to who will play central midfield tonight. Giles Coke is returning to full fitness, but it is unknown whether he could play a full 90 minutes, therefore the most likely option is Darren Potter and James O'Connor. This wont give much hope to Wednesday fans who saw the ineffectiveness of this pair consistently last year. As for the defence Mark Reynolds is expected to make his debut, I would expect him to partner Reda Johnson at centre back, leaving Daniel Jones at left back and Michael Morrison at right back depending on Lewis Buxton's late fitness test, as he also picked up a knock on Saturday. Having said this I see Michael Morrison sooner or later switching to centre back, as he is clearly a very good ball winner and also good in the air, furthermore he is not especially amazing going forward with the ball. Hence, a switch to centre half could really let his Wednesday career take off. 

The Owls are pushing for a double over Yeovil this season, having already comprehensively beating the Glovers 2-0 at Huish park. A solo effort from Jermaine Johnson and a penalty kick from Tommy Miller gave the Owls all three points earlier in the season. Wednesday need to return to this early season form if they are to have a chance of promotion. With positive attacking formations and tactics I honestly believe Sheffield Wednesday are one of the best squads in League one. Irvine must change things up if he has any hope of keeping his job. We will see tonight whether Irvine refuses to change his tactics once again even after drubbings from the likes of Exeter and Leyton Orient. One thing is for sure though, Boo-Boys stay away and all fans get behind the team tonight and push them on to victory, there have been to many managerial changes in recent years, if there's any chance of stability lets grasp on to it. Lets get behind the new players as well as the manager, as the back 4 could consist of  players still getting to know each other. Keep the faith Wednesdayites and maybe we'll see some good come out of our club for once, in Milan we trust.

Keep 606 going!

The bad news just keeps on rolling for the footballing world. Today it was announced that the BBC would be cutting its online budget by 25%, and hence, will be cutting 200 websites to help it reach this target. Unfortunately the sporting forum service 606, from which information can be so easily shared and discussed, will be one of the major websites cut in BBC's attempt to save over £34 million. The following link is BBC's explanation for the cuts of such services: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12265173

The news has come as a real shock to myself, as 606 is a vital tool that helps me follow my team and keep me updated whenever I need to know something. A lot of unrest has already been shown at the decision to discard 606 by most of the 606 users who also deem it a helpful, and educational tool. 606 allows followers of all football league clubs to communicate with other fans, write article or create polls. It consequently allows people to comment and debate those articles creating a real sense of community in an online form. There are already campaigns up and running in an attempt to save the fantastic forum site and I urge you to involve yourself in one of these campaigns and help to save a resource which at the end of the day is incredibly enjoyable. 606 gives ordinary people a chance to exchange views on their own club or other clubs and has thousands of users, surely making it a far more important resource than some of the other rubbish the BBC posts online or on television. For me it has handed out the opportunity to get involved in lively banter and debate and advertise my SWFC blog to anybody who is interested in what I have to say, making this issue incredibly aggravating for myself. The following link is an article explaining the value of 606 and opposing its cut from the BBC budget: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A80161733

If we didn't have 606 we would be extremely limited in our ability to grumble about our beloved club and for once this isn't just an issue for Sheffield Wednesday but an issue for all football and sports fans that wanted to get involved in a different way and share their views. There may be other forums available to comment on, but none have the same footballing community feel as 606 and therefore it must be saved! keep battling to save our sports forum, and sign the petition! http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-bbc-606-sports-forum.html

The ones that got away

This transfer window players have been linked with Wednesday and moved on to other clubs, leaving some of us a bit disappointed. For example, Ryan Harley joined the Swans after much hope that Wednesday were in fact ready to make an offer. Shane Lowry was also expected to make a loan switch to the Owls but instead  moved to steel city rivals Sheffield United. These recent events got my thinking about players that have been linked with the Owls over the years, but moves never materialised for them. It was a welcome distraction to the doom and gloom surrounding Hillsborough over the weekend and certainly helped me to stop thinking about promotion favourites Wednesday, lying in mid table in a relatively poor division.

1. The one player that will stick in the mind of most Wednesdayites is of course the lengendary Eric Cantona. Often considered the best foreign talent ever to play in the famous Premier League. Incredibly, there was a time when Cantona was training with the mighty Owls in 1991 and was handed a trial by Trevor Francis, the boss at the time. The most depressing fact of the Cantona saga was his admittance that he was "there to sign". He also revealed that the reason he did not sign for Wednesday was because they wanted more time to decide whether to offer him a deal. Cantona trained with the Owls for a week and played in a 4-3 friendly fixture, scoring a hat-trick whilst doing so. Francis offered Cantona a weeks extension to his trial, but Cantona wasn't going to stick around and wait for the Owls to ponder whether to sign the French front man. Cantona wasted no time in making his move to English football, within a few days he had signed for Leeds United, Wednesdays fierce Yorkshire rivals. No one knows the impact Cantona could have made at Wednesday, but we all no for sure how great a talent he was and how much we would have loved to see him in our famous blue and white strip. Cantona went on to win the old division one title with Leeds whilst Wednesday finished third. He then secured a transfer to perhaps England's most famous club Manchester United, where he went on to become a legend and win 4 league titles in 5 years.

2. The next player that Wednesday were often linked with back in glorious premier league days was Henrik Larsson. Back then the prolific goal scorers head was full of dread locks, and Between 1996 and 1998 Wednesday were linked with the Swedish talisman on several occasions. Unfortunately for Wednesday, Larsson was happy at Celtic, and Celtic were never even considering letting their top goal scorer leave. I have always been a keen admirer of Henrik and would have loved to see him in a Wednesday shirt. He went on to score Bundles of goals for Celtic and then secured a transfer to arguably the worlds greatest football team, Barcelona. He then moved on to his home town club, Helsingborg for who he scored 38 goals in 81 appearances. Larsson's strike rate at Celtic was truly incredibly scoring 174 goals in 221 games. Considering the other players we brought in the 90's such as Darko Kovacevic and Nicolas Alexandersson, I would have much preferred to see Larsson joining the Hillsborough Ranks in place of other foreign names Wednesday pulled out the cheque book for. Maybe he could even have saved us from relegation to the Championship and stopped our on going rot in football, that doesn't seem to be giving up any time soon.

3. The third and final player I am going to talk about it Patrick Kluivert. Brian Laws made an attempt to sign the Dutchman in the summer of 2007. Admittedly Kluivert's career had been going down hill for a while, and he was seeking to leave his club at the time PSV. Kluivert said "I am flattered by the interest, but a transfer to Sheffield Wednesday doesn't fit in my future plans." Even if Kluivert's career was on its way downhill, no one can deny that he was a truly great goal scorer, scoring goals for some of the best teams in the world and on an international level with Holland. Kluivert averaged around a goal every other game for the Netherlands and scored an impressive 90 goals in 182 appearanced for F.C Barcelona. He also played for great clubs such as A.C Milan, Ajax and Valencia. He also had a one season stint in England with Newcastle, he scored 6 goals in 14 appearances for the Geordie club but didn't really excel or enjoy his time there, causing him to leave after just one season. Kluivert would have been a class act in the Championship, but Laws' attempt to sign him was never really going to materialise with the player having numerous other offers from first division clubs all around the world and eventually he joined French side Lille. 


These are just a few of numerous names the Owls have been linked with over the last two decades, but there are plenty more Players the Owls have tried and failed to sign in the past. Does anybody have any stories of their own to add to this list? Any players you would have loved to see at Hillsborough, but the moves never materialised? Thinking about such matters has certainly distracted me for a while and stopped me thinking about the rather less inspiring goings on at S6 this season.

The Stubborn Scotsman

Wednesday were today absolutely demolished at the hands  of Leyton Orient, yes you are reading that right, the Owls were indeed thrashed by Orient in today's league one fixture. The 4-0 hammering has left Wednesday fans infuriated including myself. The frustration from most Wednesdayites is being vented towards the gaffer, Alan Irvine. For the first time in the year that Irvine has been in charge of the owls, I have also found myself questioning certain aspects of the Scotsman's management.

In fairness to Irvine he came into Hillsborough at the worst possible time, with no money available for signings, and trying to save a side battling against relegation. Irvine failed to save Wednesday and has led the Owls to a lowly 12th position over half way through the league one season, leaving many Wednesday fans calling for Irvine's head. In my honest opinion, Irvine is a man full of passion for football and has an eye for very good signings in the transfer windows. This has been proven so far with Irvine signing bargain after bargain in the summer all on free transfers. With signings of the likes of Clinton Morrison and Gary Teale, quality player with experience in both the Championship and the Premier League. Irvine has continued his trend of bargain spotting even when he has money to spend with no huge fees being flashed about in the 4 signings made so far this month.

Unfortunately for Irvine, others parts of his management have been far more questionable, leaving the question well and truly open, is it time for Irvine to move on from the Owls? after just over a year in charge. The aspects of management that have angered so many Wednesday fans are tactics and team selection. There are plenty of examples of quite strange team selections from Irvine in the past and none more so than the involvement of Paul Heffernan this season at Hillsborough. Heffernan has impressed consistently whilst coming on as a sub for Wednesday and in last weeks come back draw, Heffernan was the man that led the way, scoring the first of the two goals and nearly grabbing all three points for the Owls in the dying moments. That time he was only to be denied by the post and the Goal keepers finger tips. Heffernan's all round play was also impressive and his composure in front of goal is clearly a great asset. The goal in the 6-2 victory at Bristol Rovers was another sign of his quality finishing. Heff's performance last week looked enough to have earned him a starting place against Orient, after Irvine admitted Heffernan was giving him something to think about after the game last Saturday. To my shock, when I looked at the team sheet around half an hour before kick-off, Heffernan was again on the bench and after 59 minutes of play Wednesday had used all three substitutes none of which were the impressive front man. I, along with other Wednesday fans must be asking themselves the question, what does he have to do to start a game?

Another questionable part of his team selection is Irvine's refusal to try new things and experiment with a consistently poor side. This could be seen early in the season where Irvine refused to drop Marcus Tudgay and tried every single strike partership including him for months on end. Tudgay was not scoring and playing poorly, of course there is no doubt that Tudgay has quality, but reputation should not guarantee any player a starting role at Hillsborough. This could be seen again with the likes of Darren Purse, who started game after game, making point costing errors, game after game, with no chance of the captain being dropped. Purse had started most of Wednesday's games this season and has the captain's armband and yet Irvine released Purse from his contract on a mutual termination. To me this just shows a manager trying to justify his error of ways. Although I believe Purse leaving will benefit Wednesday in terms of giving new and young players the opportunity to play, you don't see Carlo Ancelotti releasing John Terry, who is a guaranteed starter and captain at Chelsea.

Even more frustrating is Irvine's negative tactics. Irvine refuses to send out a Wednesday side with two out and out wingers. Very rarely have we seen Jermaine Johnson and Gary Teale in the same starting 11. Instead we either play 3 central players or Chris Sedgwick who is certainly not an out and out winger. Jermaine Johnson also helped change the game in last week's comeback at Charlton, but had to wait 59 minutes before coming on to the pitch in today's game, even though both Sedgwick and Teale both played incredibly poorly last weekend. Finally, Irvine has addressed the main problem of the defence in the transfer market, but the other huge void that needs filling is the central midfield. Miller is usually consistent but has dropped out of form in recent weeks. Both Potter and O'Connor have yet to impress the Wednesday fans with their incredibly inconsistent displays which lack any sort of conviction or influence week in week out. Giles Coke seemed to have stepped up to the plate, but he's struggled with injury problems showing a clear need for a player to come into this position.

Following the last year of Sheffield Wednesday football has been less than inspiring and I believe the time may have come for Alan Irvine to move on, but find it unlikely that this will happen with Mandaric backing him 100 percent in the transfer market, but how much more can he and Wednesdayites take of this rubbish...

Darren Purse leaves Wednesday by mutual consent

Darren Purse has left Sheffield Wednesday in the last hour by mutual consent. Purse has been linked with his home town club Millwall today and it looks as if his departure from the Owls is clearing the path for him to sign for the team he supported as a boy. Purse's time at Wednesday has been full of ups and downs, he has been an admirable leader but unfortunately led the team to relegation from the championship last season and hasn't been the same player this time round. The end looked near for Darren Purse at last Saturday's Hillsborough fixture against Charlton, in which his own fans turned on him. The club released a statement saying:


 'Sheffield Wednesday can confirm that defender Darren Purse has left the club by mutual consent.'

It continued: 'Sheffield Wednesday would like to thank Darren for his services and wish him the best of luck for the future.'

On the positive side Purse's departure will allow first team experience to come in bundles for likes of new signing Michael Morrison, Reda Johnson and Mark Reynolds adding to the already young and talented Defender Mark Beevers. Some Wednesdayites will be dissapointed at losing an experienced head and the club captain but Reynolds, Johnson and Morrison all have a lot of experience themselves for such young players and could also prosper from Darren Purse's departure. The only question remaining unanswered on this subject is where does the captaincy go? The likes of Tommy Miller and Nicky Weaver have got to be contenders for the arm band, both first team regulars and important players in the squad.

Good luck wherever you end up Darren Purse, but like many other Owls I felt the time was right for him to move on to the next stage of his career.

Irvine confirms Hughes and Westcarr enquiries.

Alan Irvine has confirmed the enquiries of Notts County duo Lee Hughes and Craig Westcarr. Rumours have been running wild today, and Irvine has today told BBC Radio Sheffield "We are aware of them, and have made some tentative enquires, but there is nothing going on at the moment." Suggesting that County are not looking to sell either of their strike pair. This may come as a sigh of relief to Owls fans, of whom many had been uncertain about the benefits of signing 34 year old Hughes. On the other hand Westcarr rumours were yet to surface until Irvine's announcement earlier today. Westcarr has scored 51 career goals in 227 career appearances which is not exactly a prolific scoring record, leaving some to ask the question, why is Irvine trying add strikers to the squad which already contains 4 quality strikers in Morrison, Madine, Mellor and Heffernan. 

Another player Wednesday have today been linked with is former target Dany N'Guessan, who is currently playing his football at the Walkers Stadium for Leicester City. N'Guessan had been linked with the Owls last season when he was playing for Lincoln City but opted for a move to Leicester. Last season he impressed and managed 31 appearances for the Foxes and 3 goals, but this year he has struggled to get into the team and has been sent out on loan earlier in the season the Championship struggler's Scunthorpe. Dany is known for being a quick, physical winger and it is no surprise he has once again been linked with a move to Sheffield Wednesday. New Wednesday Chief Executive Paul Aldridge had spoken earlier in the week, suggesting a move for another player could be done before saturday's game at Leyton Orient. Owls fans will be excited to hear of this arrival with speculation about to many players surrounding the club, leaving the fans only to guess who will be next through the Hillsborough doors.

S6 Rumour Mill overloaded this morning!

This morning Owls all over have been woken up to the sound of January transfer window rumours. Both ins and outs have been speculated today at Hillsborough and the first name that has hit the tabloids is that of Notts County's Lee Hughes. Hughes has scored an impressive 225 goals in his long career consisting of 495 appearances for clubs such as West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City at one point Hughes commanded a huge fee of £5,000,000 in a move from West Brom to Coventry. Although Hughes is clearly a natural goal scorer, there are many Wednesday fans not so keen on him. This could be largely due to his age, he is now 34 and spending a 6 figure sum on a man with so little time left in his career, could be seen as careless. As well as this during the 2003/04 season Hughes was involved in a car crash, in which a passenger of the other car was killed, Hughes and his passenger fled the scene only to hand themselves in a day later. Hughes was given a sentence of 6 years. His actions on that day have led him to become a very unpopular figure in football, so some Wednesdayites would be genuinely dissatisfied if Hughes were to sign for the Owls this month. Personally, I believe Hughes' age is the most determining factor. He is still a first team regular at Notts County and would therefore require a decent sized fee, which could be far too much of a gamble, even with a scoring record like the one he has.

The second name to crop up in the Rumour Mill this morning is Brentford's young pacey winger Myles Weston. Weston is a 22 year old winger and can also be used in a role as a striker. He started his Career at Charlton Athletic but never made a first team appearance, he went on loan to Notts County and then made his loan move permanent. The winger scored 3 goals in 73 appearance for County before turning down a new contract and making the move to his current club Brentford. He has scored 9 goals in 63 appearances for Brentford and is well liked due to his Pace and Trickery. The link to Myles Weston coming to the Owls came from Radio Sheffield, which is usually quite a reliable source. With no real natural left wingers currently in the owls squad, Weston's signing could be a god send. He could also be seen as a long term replacement for Jermaine Johnson, who still has bags of pace, but is 8 years Weston's superior, questions could be asked about when JJ will no longer have such dangerous pace. With Weston being so young his signing seems far more likely signing than that of Lee Hughes, as all Alan Irvine's signings so far have been aged 23 and under as he tries to build a squad not just for promotion this season, but for the long term future as well. Get him signed up Milan!

The third name which has been talked about this Morning, is Blackburn central midfielder Keith Andrews. His name has not only been bounded about this morning but for the past week or so. Rumours suggesting Andrews is on his way to Hillsborough in a six month loan move seem to be getting stronger and stronger. Andrews is a player of international quality having played 16 times for the Republic of Ireland and scoring 1 goal. Andrews has also played 66 games for Premier League Blackburn since his arrival in 2008 and scored 5 goals. Andrews Captained MK Dons previously and led them to the league one play-offs. When Paul Ince left the Dons for Blackburn he took his star player with him. The dynamic box to box midfielder is 30 years of age and has vast experience, having played 275 matches for a selection of clubs. A central midfielder, is what many Owls fans have been crying out for over the past few weeks. Darren Potter has never really excelled at Wednesday, James O'connor has all the energy and heart but lacks when it comes to creativity and quality and new signing Giles Coke has been hit back with injury problems after an impressive start to his debut Owls season. Leaving just Tommy Miller who has impressed in the central Midfield role, but has needed a consistent partner for some time. Andrews could be the answer to this problem as he has struggled to win a first team place at Blackburn this year and would be welcomed with open arms from myself and i'm sure plenty of other Owls.

The final Rumour to be listed this morning, is the exit of Darren Purse. Rumours suggest that Purse has attracted the interest of his boyhood club Millwall. Purse has struggled this season and although he offers experience to an otherwise young back four, he has made countless point costing errors, which have left the Wednesday faithful exceedingly impatient with him. The impatience could be seen in Saturday's draw against Charlton, in which Purse's errors lead to two goals in the opening 5 minutes and some Wednesday fans stupidly jeering his every touch. Purse started his Owls career in a similar fashion, looking shaky a lot of the time but in the second half of last season really stepped up to be counted and performed admirably in his attempt to save the Owls from relegation. However, once again this season Purse has failed to impress and show his composed experience that he is so well regarded for in the game, having captained Birmingham, Cardiff and now the Owls. I remember as soon as Purse joined the Owls ranks, he was interviewed by the Sheffield Star and said he would like to end his career at Millwall if the opportunity came about, so if the rumours are true, I can't see Alan Irvine standing in his way or any fans for that matter. So, if a bid for Darren Purse did materialise and he left the club, I would like to say so long Mr. Purse, Thank you for trying...

Another two fly in at Hillsborough

Over the weekend Wednesday announced the signings of two more players. Gary Madine the 20 year old Carlisle United striker and Mark Reynolds the 23 year old centre back/ left back from Motherwell.

Gary Madine is a young striker who has attracted interest from Championship Clubs as well as League One sides. This is essentially because of his strike rate in the current campaign for Carlisle, despite his young age Madine has played in all English divisions apart from the premier league. He has a lot of experience for such a young player. Alan Irvine has signed him as a target man, as he is 6"4 and is known for his aerial ability and good touch. Madine has scored 13 goals in 26 appearances for Carlisle this season and has been on loan at local rivals Chesterfield, Rochdale and Championship side Coventry. The latter were interested in a permanent transfer but a deal did not materialise. The fee is believed to be around £500,000 for Madine, a player who looks full of potential. This could be a fantastic signing for the owls who seem to have gone for Potential over experience in the January transfer window so far.

Another young starlet that the Owls have brought into Hillsborough this week is Scottish Centre Half, Mark Reynolds, who is also comfortable at Left Back. Reynolds has been a permanent fixture in the Motherwell side this year and Stuart McCall was extremely reluctant to let Reynolds slip through his fingers. Fortunately for Wednesday McCall accepted an offer from the Owls, because he feared he would not be able to replace Reynolds in time, if he was lost later in the transfer window. The deal was also undisclosed leaving rumours that the fee for Reynolds was around £100,000, rising depending on certain clauses. Despite being young Reynolds has played 166 games for Motherwell including games in the Europa league. Reynolds had attracted interest from plenty of teams of recent years and just two years ago, Scottish Champions Rangers made a bid of £750,000 for the young defender and Swansea City made a similarly large offer in the summer. Wednesday have clearly beaten off much competition for the highly rated Scot, and seem to have purchased him for a cut price with his Motherwell contract running out at the end of the season. The signing of Reynolds brings the tally of defensive signings in January up to 3 with Reda Johnson and Michael Morrison also being snapped up by Irvine. This will be of great relief to the Hillsborough faithful as defending from current squad members such as Darren Purse, Tommy Spurr and Mark Beevers has been less than inspiring in recent weeks.

Charlton Athletic 2-2 Sheffield Wednesday

After the first six minutes of Saturdays game Vs Charlton, it seemed unlikely that Sheffield Wednesday Fans would be gutted to only come away from Hillsborough with a point. Wednesday started the game abysmally with  two defensive errors from captain Darren Purse leading to the Addicks being 2-0 up with some fans still taking their seats to watch what was to become an extremely eventful 90 minutes. Within the First minute Scott Wagstaff had lost his marker in the penalty area and calmly slotted the ball past a hapless Nicky Weaver, once again leaving more questions asked about the Owls defence. Only 5 minutes later a long punt up the field led to Darren Purse and Joe Ayinsah coming up against one another, Purse looked the clear favourite to clear the ball but the tricky Charlton winger made up a couple of yards with his pace and put Purse under enough pressure to lure the Owls captain into a challenge, which was to say the least clumsy. The resulting challenge led to a penalty which Jonnie Jackson composedly swept into the bottom corner, it could be argued Purse's challenge deemed a red card, but the former Cardiff City man was only booked for his late tackle.

 Wednesday then managed to control the early Charlton onslaught, and were given a lifeline 5 minutes before half-time, when Reda Johnson, impressing on his home début was brought down in the penalty area, giving Wednesday the chance to reduce the deficit before half-time. Up stepped Tommy Miller, who had taken 30 penalties in his career and scored 100 percent of them, this his 31st effort was well struck by Miller but he was denied by a fully stretched Rob Elliot who went on to perform more heroics throughout the game. With disgruntled Wednesday fans letting the team know how they felt, things weren't looking good for the Owls, Darren Purse's every touch was being stupidly jeered by less intelligent members of the crowd and the team were surrounded by a chorus of boos as the made their way to the changing room at half-time.

A clearly furious Alan Irvine followed his players into the dressing room and one can only presume he gave the whole team the 'hair dryer treatment', Jermaine Johnson and Paul Heffernan were brought on for the second half in place of an ineffective Neil Mellor and Gary Teale who lacked his usual spark and creativity. Immediately Wednesday looked a better side in the second half and after just two minutes they were back in the game, Reda Johnson a constant threat in Charlton penalty area was there once more to flick the ball into the path of a grateful Paul Heffernan, who has not had many first team opportunities, Heffernan smashed the ball home, asking Alan Irvine the question when should Heffernan be given a starting role in the team, after coming on as a substitute in his last two Hillsborough matches to score goals. Just a few Minutes later the colossal new signing Reda Johnson was causing havoc once more in the Charlton penalty area. After good work from Chris Sedgwick on the left the ball came into the box and Johnson used every inch of his 6 foot 3 frame to power a header into the bottom corner, sending the Wednesday faithful into raptures. From then on Wednesday looked like they would be the only winners in this match, although Charlton did look a threat on the break. Daniel Jones was caught in an advanced position down the left flank leaving Reda Johnson to deal with the dangerous Scott Wagstaff, with a Brilliant hard sliding tackle Johnson dispossessed his man and had the composure to get up and safely dribble the ball out of harms way, leaving some Wednesdayites comparing him to the once so entertaining Madjid Bougherra who now play for Scottish Champions Rangers.

The second half also saw the introduction of former Wednesday Favourite Akpo Sodje who was well liked at Hillsborough, most notably for his opening goal in the Steel City derby two years previous. Fortunately for Wednesday Akpo was largely ineffective unlike so many returning former Owls. Charltons Defence tightened up with 20 minutes or so remaining and the previously dangerous Jermaine Johnson who has changed the game for a short period suddenly looked out of sorts. The game became had very little chances from then on until the fourth official announced there would be 4 minutes of stoppage time. This announcement was greeted by a huge roar from the 19,000 Wednesday fans, who were hoping for more than just a point against promotion rivals Charlton. Within seconds the players responded with the hard working James O'connor going close with a rare long range drive leaving fans all over the ground biting their nails. But with literally seconds left on the clock and fans from both sides resigning to the fact that this league one fixture would be a draw a long ball was floated into the box from new signing Michael Morrison. The stand in right back ball was an absolute peach and landed firmly on the head of the truly impressive Paul Heffernan who powered his header towards the top corner only to be denied by the finger tips of the point saving Rob Elliot, who tipped the ball onto the post, and then stood and watched as the ball dribbled along the goal line only to be cleared by a last ditch boot from a Charlton defender. Paul Heffernan was interviewed after the match and asked about his header, "When I headed it, I thought it was in; the keeper got a little touch on it, and even then I thought it was in; it hit the inside of the post and rolled across the goal. I was gutted". Contrastingly to the first half the team were given a standing ovation from the Wednesday Faithful, in a game they really should have taken all three points from.


Alan Irvine had this to say after the game, "It was a dreadful start, a good response in the second half; but for a fantastic save and the post, we would have ended up winning.
Their goals were terrible from our point of view. You can't defend like that and expect to get away with it.

I felt confident that Tommy would score with the penalty; he has a fantastic record. It didn't happen. I'm sure he will go on to score a lot more.

I was tempted to make three changes at half-time. But if you do that and pick up an injury, you're chasing the game with 10 men.
I told them at half-time it wasn't acceptable. it was time to take more responsibility. I felt a lot of players were hiding.

The impact of the two subs (Jermaine Johnson and Paul Heffernan] was dramatic. In the second half we were really looking dangerous every time we went forward."

Wednesday go on to play Leyton Orient away on saturday and the fans will be full of hope and expectation after Alan Irvine named 2 new signings on the day of the Charlton fixture. The signings of Highly rated Youngster Gary Madine and Scottish Talent Mark Reynolds combined with the second half performance from the Owls, could lead to a new positive outlook from Hillsborough as Milan Mandaric continues to back Irvine in the transfer market, with the team looking stronger and stronger every week.

Reda Johnson and Michael Morrison

This is Reda Johnson, Sheffield Wednesday's new centre back signed from Plymouth argyle for an undisclosed fee. Reda impressed on his debut, but their has already typically been controversy surrounding his name following his transfer just a few days ago.http://menmedia.co.uk/trafford/news/s/1404376_footballer_reda_johnson_in_court_on_false_imprisonment_charges Although Reda is currently in court on allegations of false imprisonment, according to reports he played exceptionally well on is debut, when Wednesday put 3 past championship side Bristol City. Sheffield Wednesday's other new signing Michael Morrison from Leicster for an undisclosed fee also had a solid debut in the F.A cup third round tie. The two new defensive signings have been of a particular relief to me, as I can't stand watching Tommy Spurr and Darren Purse play at Hillsborough week in week out, so added competition from the likes of Morrison and Johnson is a breathe of Fresh air no matter what they get up to off the field....

I am looking forward to seeing both these new signings star in future matches for the mighty owls and am finaly excited at the prospect of more signings coming to Hillsborough with Mad Milan looking to splash the cash with at least four new signings before the Charlton match on saturday! Role the rest of this week is all I can say!

Introducing

Hello! My name is Tom, i am and have been a season ticket holder at Sheffield Wednesday Football Club for around 10 years. I am setting up this Blog for all Sheffield Wednesday and Football Fans, who want to keep updated and talk about Sheffield Wednesday and all other Footballing matters, from this weekends F.A Cup 3rd round ties to the constant sackings and pressure on football managers at the moment.

Thanks, will see you with my first post soon!