Sheffield Wednesday have recently added goalkeeping coach Sal Bibbo to their backroom team.
Sheffield Wednesday, despite their treacherous league position and struggles off the pitch, have somehow managed to put together a rather strong looking backroom team.
Danny Rohl came in as manager last month and he’s now joined by the likes of former England coach Chris Powell, as well as familiar faces in the likes of Sascha Lense.
The latest and perhaps final addition to Rohl’s staff is Bibbo; the former Arsenal goalkeeping coach joins after the Owls looked at other names to come in.
And one other name who was apparently sounded out for the position is Andrew Sparkes.
Sheffield Wednesday made Sparkes approach
It was claimed that Sheffield Wednesday made checks on the Reading assistant for the role of goalkeeping coach at Hillsborough.
But Bibbo eventually came in, and since, Royals boss Ruben Selles has revealed to the press that the club gave Sparkes permission to speak with Wednesday, but that the UEFA A License coach decided to stay with Reading.
Selles is quoted (via The Star) as saying:
“We gave him the freedom to speak with them, but he is committed to us and decided to not go through. He is happy with us.”
Sparkes previously spent four years with Southampton having also had spells coaching with the likes of New York Red Bulls and Swansea City in the past.
Moving on…
Sparkes has good experience. But Bibbo seems to have more, and more experience of working with top level clubs and top level goalkeepers too.
Rohl and Sheffield Wednesday then should definitely be pleased with the addition of Bibbo and with how their backroom team has materialised.
But it’s the players on the pitch who deliver results, and right now, results are proving very hard to come by.
The Owls remain nine points adrift at the bottom of the table and it looks like they need a miracle to stand any chance of beating the drop this season.
A trip to Birmingham City is up next and it’s a definite chance for Sheffield Wednesday to claim a point, if not a win, with Blues currently winless in five games under Wayne Rooney.
Birmingham City though will view this as a must-win game too.
Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 3pm at St Andrew’s.