A journalist explains why one Sheffield Wednesday star is always well-loved by managers.
Any Sheffield Wednesday fans that decided to leave Hillsborough early last night will have been livid after the ending they had missed.
Though it seems highly unlikely that there would be many to cut the match short, given how impressive their second-half performance was against Norwich City.
The Owls had found themselves 2-0 down heading into half-time after a number of poor defensive decisions, and Danny Rohl chose to react with four substitutions.
Pol Valentin, Will Vaulks, Kristian Pedersen and Callum Paterson all came on at half-time and made a huge contribution as Wednesday battled for a huge point, with two set pieces leading to goals towards the end of the match.
Will Vaulks will take most of the plaudits after he picked up a brace of assists, but it was another hard-working, determined cameo from Paterson that helped his team get over the line.
The 29-year-old had been sidelined for months before making his comeback against QPR, and was given another chance to impress last night.
He put in another gutsy display and, while it isn’t always pretty, continues to earn praise from his manager and fans.
Paterson has played for Wednesday for four years now and has always been a vital cog in their squad, while it was similar during his time in Cardiff too.
The utility player has been important to so many managers and has always been popular at Hillsborough too, putting pen to paper on a new £15,000-per-week contract only last summer.
Callum Paterson can be so ‘important’ to Rohl now
Journalist Dom Howson has now hailed how ‘important’ Paterson can be in this final run-in, and has explained what it is that managers love about him.
Howson wrote on X: “You know who I think could be important to #SWFC in the run-in? Callum Paterson. The big man has got his critics but there’s a reason managers keep on picking him. Gives his all in every position he plays. Is vastly-experienced and always good for some s***housery too!”
How versatile really is Paterson?
Callum Paterson has hundreds of appearances to his name in the EFL during his senior career, and they have rarely ever been in the same position for too long.
His main position has been centre-forward with 135 appearances, but his versatility is made glaringly obvious when you see that his next most popular position is right-back, with only 34 less appearances.
He has also played right midfield, central midfield, attacking midfield, left midfield, right winger, second striker, centre-back, defensive midfield, left winger and left-back.
So Paterson can pretty much play anywhere on the pitch apart from in goal, and he would probably do that to a decent standard too.
There is no surprise that so many managers love him and he is so handy to have around, while his commitment and leadership is certainly helpful too.