Sheffield Wednesday could only muster a point against Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon, and Danny Rohl’s tactical decision might be to blame.
Going into the game against Cardiff City on the back of that Steel City derby defeat before the international break, Sheffield Wednesday needed a reaction.
For the most part, Danny Rohl will be happy with his players, with the Owls playing some lovely football and dominating the game and creating a number of chances.
However, taking those chances is a different matter. Ike Ugbo continued to struggle in front of goal, Michael Smith couldn’t make a significant impact, and the only player who looked like making something happen was taken off with ten minutes to go.
Josh Windass should have stayed on vs Cardiff City
Despite bagging an assist, finding himself on the end of one big chance, and causing the Cardiff defence problems all game, Josh Windass was replaced by Callum Paterson in the 82nd minute.
That decision to bring off the Owls’ most dangerous player was not a popular one — least of all with Windass himself — and it prompted a confused reaction from Joe Crann on Twitter/X.
Crann wrote: “Will say, I was surprised to see Josh Windass go off today… I know Danny Rohl will have wanted to get more attackers on the pitch, but I thought Josh was arguably Sheffield Wednesday’s best player today. Think we’re always more likely to score when he’s on the pitch.”
With momentum on Wednesday’s side, and Windass clearly feeling confident, it did seem the forward was the most likely player on the pitch to put the ball in the back of the net next.
Indeed, Paterson himself missed a huge opportunity to win the game when he fluffed a shot from inside the box late on. It begs the question, if he found himself in the same position, would Josh Windass have been more clinical? The answer, sadly, is yes, he probably would.
Josh Windass reaction to substitution not a good look
When he left the field of play, Windass was clearly frustrated at being removed from the action. The 30-year-old angrily put on his coat, threw water bottles, and kicked a barrier as he took his seat on the substitute’s bench.
Regardless of whether he could have changed the game or not, there is no excuse for players behaving this way. It’s all well and good showing a desire to want to stay on and make an impact, but you simply have to remain professional and respect the manager’s decisions.
| Statistic | Josh Windass vs Cardiff City |
|---|---|
| xG | 0.64 |
| Assists | 1 |
| Big chances missed | 1 |
| Shots off target | 2 |
| Shots blocked | 1 |
| Passing accuracy | 90% |
Windass did plenty throughout his 82 minutes to show how influential and dangerous he can be, and there is no doubt that he will continue to be a key player for Rohl for the course of the campaign.
He wasn’t the only one to let his emotions run high on Saturday, though. Barry Bannan was furious with the referee for denying the Owls a penalty, and clearly, the Sheffield Wednesday players were generally just disappointed that the game didn’t go their way despite their seeming control on the day.