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.