Sheffield Wednesday 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2 - Cup Exit Keeps League Ambitions In Focus

Since I'm fairly new to this I am not sure how to feel about crashing out of the Carabao Cup rather meekly with a 2-0 defeat at home to Wolves. 

In all probability most fans won't be looking for coping mechanisms. But what did manager Henrik Pedersen's decision to make eight changes from the side that lost to Bradford City on Thursday say about his expectations? I'm hoping he was protecting players for a genuine promotion push but so much has gone on with Wednesday in recent times that maybe he would be forgiven for prioritising the league just to make sure Wednesday don't leave it through the exit into League Two.

Only goalkeeper Joe Lumley, Billy Mitchell and Harry Gray retained their places in the starting 11. Lumley played behind an entirely different back four of ageless veteran Liam Palmer, Ricardo Santos, Sil Swinkels and Reece James. I won't do the 'not that one' joke. Oh...too late.

In midfield there was a start for a candidate for the title of Sheffield's second most popular Jarvis - Thornton - as well as Mitchell. Liverpool loanee Kieron Morrison, Will Grainger and Gray nominally provided the support for lone striker Mason Burstow. Although it must be said that Pedersen's 4-2-3-1 resembled a 4-5-1 all too often.

Within three minutes of the kick-off Lumley must have wished he had been one of the first team players to get a night off. Maybe the fans did too as his botched handling of Tawanda Chirewa's shot from the left of the penalty area ricocheted in off Swinkels. It was a poor error from Lumley, immediately placing more heat on his team. That's unwelcome at the best of times but even more so when you're coming up against an admittedly heavily rotated Championship contender. 

Despite the odds Wednesday arguably had the better of the first half for the most part. Morrison was a constant nuisance even if he seemed rather too keen to unleash an attempt on goal. Some were speculative at best but he might have grabbed an equaliser when Wolves keeper Jose Sa - a man with five caps for Portugal - went awol. Morrison's shot missed the target. It wasn't an easy finish, but within the gift of someone trained in two world class academy environments at Liverpool and previously Manchester United.

If Wednesday had made it to half-time at only 1-0 down they may have had a chance to regroup. Assess what was working and what wasn't and make adjustments. But a loss of concentration just before the end of a half is something which seems to plague Wednesday and it did so again. 

There was oceans of space in the Owls' box when Tommy Doyle whipped in a fierce cross which was headed in by Saeed Olagunju. You had to wonder if that was one if those moments which illustrated why Swinkels and Santos did not start the last league game, with former Leeds man Liam Cooper preferred alongside Gabriel Otegbayo. It was a great ball from Doyle but he had a bit of a chasm to play it into.

The second half was so disrupted by substitutions at a certain point that I felt like I had been transported back in time to a Sven Goran Eriksson era England friendly. There are limits on subs but they are dwindling every year at the behest of the Premier League's Most Wanted. Neither side could find any rhythm, but the onus was on Wednesday to take the initiative at 2-0 down. They weren't really up to it.

There were less than 25 minutes left when Pedersen went Double Barry, throwing on exalted midfield maestro Barry Bannan with the exciting Louie Barry. The latter had one chance with around a quarter of an hour left but blazed over Sa's bar. Jamal Lowe -  criticised on these pages for his ineffectual display against the Bantams - was introduced late on when Gray suffered a worrying head injury. Yet Lowe managed to scuff his only presentable chance straight at Sa. It was probably going wide anyway.

If there is disappointment about going out of the competition so early it should be tempered by the quality of the opposition and Wednesday's mostly competitive endeavours. Wolves were still just about a Premier League team three months ago and will be among the favourites to get there for next season. Wednesday have just narrowly avoided oblivion and have basically been rebuilt for League One. There was always going to be a gulf in class.

The weekend brings a different focus and an entirely new challenge. The League One campaign continues with a visit from Bromley. The London club will be playing only their third match at this level in their history. Pitting them against such a storied institution as Wednesday is a rollicking good example of the joys of the English pyramid system. And the absence of VAR only enhances it.

It's been a solid start to the league season for Pedersen's side with victory over Leyton Orient preceding the loss to Bradford. The Bromley fixture is exactly the sort which any side with designs on promotion will feel they have to win. 

We might learn a little more about the season's expectations come 5.00pm on Saturday.

Sheffield Wednesday 0 Bradford City 1 - Zombified Wednesday Suffer Setback

A 1-0 defeat to Bradford City is a disappointment. But after the travails of the recent past you'd hardly call it crashing back down to Earth following the weekend win over Leyton Orient.

Tempering that disappointment is the fact that on another day this could have gone Wednesday's way. They were the better side in the first half, dominating early in particular before being undone by a set-piece at the start of the second half. What was concerning was that Aiden Baldwin's goal - which should have been a mere setback - knocked the stuffing out of Henrik Pedersen's side. 

Pedersen made changes from the side that had won at Leyton Orient. Tyler Onyango played just 14 minutes of his debut at the stadium formerly known as Brisbane Road before suffering an ACL injury which will rule him out for the rest of the season. 

Sil Swinkels and Jordi Liongola also missed out while Liam Palmer dropped to the bench. Yan Valery returned at right-back with Billy Mitchell brought into midfield and Louie Barry making his first league start.

Wednesday made a fast start, dominating early on. Barry Bannan had a glorious chance but saw his effort saved by Jon McCracken and Barry went close with a curling effort. Mr Q emblazoned above the name on the back of their shirts, Wednesday were displaying a gambler's swagger. Liam Cooper had another chance with a header from a corner. As club legends Chris Waddle, Mel Sterland, John Harkes and David Hirst looked on from the Hillsborough stands Wednesday threatened to run riot. But where was Des Walker?

Wednesday still looked in control for the remainder of the first half without really causing too many alarms. Had Jake Beesley got on the end of Kayden Jackson's fizzing cross a minute before the break the home side could have gone in a goal down. 

Within two minutes of the restart they were. A corner was flicked on to where Baldwin was waiting to volley it past Joe Lumley. Never shy of sticking the boot in with a stat, Sky Sports informed us that Wednesday had lost all of the last 31 games in which they had conceded first. Given the turmoil of last season in particular this feels like an irrelevance. You can make it 32, as it turned out so maybe they do know something. Even Andy Hinchcliffe.

A loss of composure ensued. Harry Gray needlessly pushed McCracken on his way back upfield. Callum Slattery saw a great chance slip away as the ball got caught under his feet like an unsuspecting, sleeping dog. The absence of a cutting edge was a terminal failure for Pedersen's men. 

Jamal Lowe is the focal point of the attack although he has licence to drift wide in Pedersen's system. But on this evidence there are question marks around whether he's totally suited to the role. He has the whiff of a striker who could thrive in this division off good service but if he has to go looking for it he falls short. Sheer surprise was arguably a contributing factor in his fluffing of a late chance as the ball broke to him at the far post. 

Josh Neuville and Adam Phillips had decent efforts in a much more even second period. Phillips - who came on as a substitute for Bobby Pointon - used to be in my FM Touch 24 Barnsley team. There's pedigree for you. Meanwhile Pedersen waited until the 68th minute to give his side a shake. 

When he did it was what NBA commentators used to call a trifecta. Cooper, Barry and Mitchell were all withdrawn as Swinkels, Mason Burstow and Kieran Morrison entered proceedings. Morrison has had pre season minutes for Liverpool recently and showed much promise. He should be good enough for this level. He showed flashes of his potential but was reasonably well marshalled by Bantams left back Ibou Touray. Who was in my Salford City FM Touch 24 team.

As the match wore on it was the away fans' rendition of The Cranberries classic Zombie that could be heard loudest. Although that could be something to do with deliberate manipulation from technical nerds at Sky. It wouldn't be the first time. But it did remind me of a quite brilliant scene in This Way Up when the anthemic hit is butchered by Aisling Bea and Sharon Horgan. If you haven't seen it, get on it. Or maybe wait a few days until you have got over this result.

When you have - or even if you haven't - there's Wolves to worry about next in the Carabao Cup. It will be fascinating to see how much Pedersen prioritises it at the start of a season in which Wednesday have reasonable designs on a return to the Championship. But Wolves too will have promotion on their minds after their dismal showing in last season's Premier League. It may be a free hit for both clubs. 

Leyton Orient 1 Sheffield Wednesday 2 - Beginners Luck?

I've only been to a few Wednesday games. Probably a dozen going back to the early 2000s. I was in Cardiff when they won promotion to the Championship by beating Hartlepool in 2005 and at Wembley in 2016 when Hull City pipped them to a Premier League place. 

My partner is my connection to the club. She's a fan having been born in Sheffield before being brought up in Buckinghamshire. Her dad spent rather more time in the city  and - despite his brother supporting Rotherham - is a lifelong Wednesdayite. 

So I'm not an expert. I'm learning as I go. And it just so happens that a new League One campaign started today. At Leyton Orient.

Wednesday's recent history of rogue ownership, points deductions and relegation from the Championship before Easter is well documented. So we're not going to agonise over it any further. New ownership brings a new start. With a squad that is being whispered about. It'll be competitive, they say.

Three potentially big players aren't involved today. Yan Valery was at the World Cup with Tunisia - let's not talk about that either - and is not quite ready along with Billy Mitchell and Ricardo Santos. 

You'd expect change after last season's turmoil and there are four debutants starting for Henrik Pedersen. None of us learned much about Tyler Onyango. The ex-Everton man only lasts 10 minutes before he has to be replaced by Jarvis Thornton. So there is another Jarvis in Sheffield.  

Also trying to establish themselves are Jordi Liongola, Callum Slattery and Harry Gray. 

Saturday afternoon 3pm blackout be damned, you can watch all EFL games at this time on Sky Sports+ or the Sky Sports app. I'm a little late tuning in and when I do the onscreen scoreboard shows me that the home side have taken an early lead. Bloody Wednesday. Up against it straight away. This might be a slog after all.

But it's weird that a couple of minutes goes by and the commentator hasn't referred to it. No description of the goal. Nothing about how it changes the teams' approach or perspective. No stats on quick goals. I look around the web. Nobody else is reporting a Leyton Orient goal. Not the BBC, not Sky. They're not even foaming at the mouth about it on what I will always call Twitter. 

That's because it hasn't happened. 

The on screen graphics are finally corrected on six minutes. The next moment of farce raises the heart rate for different reasons. Callum Slattery - a June arrival from Motherwell - charges down a clearance from Leyton Orient keeper Nathan Baxter and sees it spin away into the net for his first goal for his new club. Is this more Wednesday farce or is it the most League One thing in the world?

Thereafter the most noticeable ingredient in the first half is Wednesday's lack of composure. It's hard to determine Pedersen's tactical plan when the ball is given away so regularly. When it's not given away it's bypassing the midfield of both teams. Returned from Millwall, Barry Bannan looks out of place. 

On so many of my visits to Hillsborough he's looked by far the most technically gifted player on the field. But in that opening 45 minutes it's difficult to know what he's for. He would attract plenty of attention by the end.

Neither side is helped by the lack of flow. After the World Cup we were promised that the game would be speeded up. But there are several instances of players going down with injury while the rest of the team head to the sideline for sports drinks and coaching tips. Wednesday appear to have tuned out following one such unscheduled break. Seven minutes after taking the lead they are pegged back when Joseph Oluwu neatly converts a cross that has been flicked on towards him. It's 1-1. Whatever plan Pedersen hatched defensively is redundant if you switch off.

Whether it was a plan or reaction to what he'd seen, Pedersen introduced Louie Barry at the start of the second half. He has joined from Aston Villa via more loans than my local library's copy of the latest Richard Osman whodunnit. And he did so with a big reputation having started his football education at Barcelona's La Masia. Liongola was the one to be withdrawn. Barry operated on the left with Gray switching to Liongola's right sided role. Whether it was a key reason or not, Wednesday improved quickly. 

They were helped by a quite absurd 12-minute cameo from James Morris. Brought on to replace the injured Somto Boniface, he was found guilty of pulling back Jamal Lowe in the penalty area within three minutes. Lowe had already had a goal disallowed for offside moments earlier. He took the spot kick himself and put Wednesday back in front.

Morris wasn't finished. He botched his attempt to get the ball back to Baxter which allowed Bannan in on goal. He waltzed around the Os goalkeeper serenely before somehow contriving to roll the ball into the side netting with the goal empty. It didn't have the iconic step over dummy but there were still Pele 1970 vibes about the miss. Morris had narrowly avoided worsening his side's situation but he didn't avoid the shepherd's crook from his manager. Off he went, the substitute substituted.

Wednesday - and in particular Lowe - had much the better of it thereafter but there was one moment of mild panic. Armando Dobra had a great chance at the far post but couldn't take it. He then got injured, forcing Orient to finish the game with 10 men having used all of their subs. 

It took a while for the players to register, but Wednesday eventually came to the conclusion that keeping the ball away from their outnumbered opponents was the best way to preserve the win. Chaos mode was switched off and replaced by a more reassuring calm. 

That is until the fourth official indicated that nine minutes of added time would be played. Following Wednesday less closely in previous seasons it feels like this always happens. Sitting at home waiting for Jason Muhammad or Jeff Stelling to confirm even a reasonable result was maddening. It must have felt worse for my partner. Especially because of the frequency with which Wednesday would concede during that added time. 

Not this time. A deserved win was secured and offered this observer hope that after the doom cycle of last year the Owls can compete again.