Danny Rohl is still getting his feet under the table at Sheffield Wednesday but by ditching Lee Gregory he’s made his first big mistake.
The Owls sit rock-bottom of the Championship with just six points from their opening 17 games of the season.
Furthermore, Wednesday have scored just eight goals which makes the decision on Gregory all the more difficult to comprehend.
Rohl has made his first Wednesday mistake
It’s never easy picking up the pieces when a manager has been sacked following a poor start to a campaign.
That is the hand that Rohl has been dealt after he replaced Xisco Munoz who departed after just 10 games in charge.
The performances have improved under Rohl but in fairness to him, they couldn’t get much worse.
Gregory played for 65 minutes of a 3-0 defeat for Wednesday at Plymouth under the German manager and came on for two minutes against Watford.
Rohl has apparently deemed that enough time to judge a player who has given blood, sweat and tears to the Wednesday cause and frankly, it doesn’t feel right.
Dropping Gregory from Wednesday squad doesn’t make any sense
Naturally, the clamour to get Bailey Cadamarteri involved is normal. Football fans and indeed clubs always want to give their youngsters a pathway to the first team.
However, is this really the right environment for the 18-year-old? Wednesday are being booed off left, right and centre and there is a danger that in a struggling side, Cadamarteri’s confidence could be damaged.
Wednesday striker Gregory is hardly going to set the Championship alight at 35. What he does bring to the team, however, is a knack of being in the right place at the right time and a know-how when it comes to scoring in the second tier.
The experienced frontman has scored important goals across his career. He has 41 to his name in the Championship and his heroics last season should see more respect put on his name.
Gregory scored 11 goals and claimed six assists as the Owls were promoted. His work rate never comes under question and it’s a real mystery why he’s been handed such a bad set of cards by Rohl.
Recently, the striker fetched up his 100th appearance for the Owls against Plymouth. In truth, Gregory didn’t have an amazing game but in this current Wednesday team, whoever plays up top is starved of service.
The Sheffield-born star will surely return to the fold on Wednesday night. Michael Smith is struggling with an injury, whilst Josh Windass is banned after collecting five yellow cards.
All Gregory can do now is hope to grasp the next chance that comes his way in a Wednesday shirt. Rohl is still learning about his squad but binning Gregory seems harsh and the manager should be finding a place for him somewhere.