Sheffield Wednesday are in a bit of a predicament at the moment and Michael Ihiekwe must be recalled after the international break. The Owls will face struggling Birmingham and Bambo Diaby has to be in danger of losing his place.
Danny Rohl is still finding out about his Wednesday squad. Ihiekwe has yet to get a chance to shine under the German manager and that does seem a little bit harsh on the promotion winner.
Yesterday, Ihiekwe was back out on the pitch as the Wednesday under-21s lost to Fleetwood. It’s somewhat criminal that the defender isn’t playing senior football and that has to change.
Ihiekwe must replace Diaby next time out
Rohl now has a couple of works to do with his Wednesday squad. He’s overseen four defeats in five games and the Owls can ill-afford to lose any more ground on the team sitting fourth bottom.
Nothing against Diaby and his defensive statistics haven’t been too bad since arriving at Hillsborough. Who Scored shows that he’s made more clearances than any other Wednesday player and he’s won 28 headers in 12 games.
However, his performance against Millwall offered more questions than answers about the player who was signed in the summer. His display was labelled as ‘grim’ and he was rated 2/10 for his efforts by the local media.
Ihiekwe deserves a recall to Wednesday squad
The time has now come for Wednesday boss Rohl to stick his faith in the loyal players who got the Owls where they are today. Ihiekwe was one of the standout performers last season and he doesn’t deserve not to be playing.
Shipping four goals at home to a team like Millwall is far from ideal. As a result, some serious changes need to be made for the next game.
Rohl can’t take all of the blame for the poor run of form and ultimately the players must take responsibility. Something has to give next time out. With that in mind, Diaby has to be at risk of losing his place in the Wednesday team.