Sheffield Wednesday didn’t cover themselves in any glory against Middlesbrough. But one player perhaps had his worst game of the season.
Sheffield Wednesday endured a rotten afternoon at the Riverside on Monday afternoon.
They were beaten 2-0 by Middlesbrough, though it could’ve been a much higher scoreline if it weren’t for a positive performance from James Beadle in goal.
Danny Rohl was furious at full-time.
Rohl gave a scathing review of Sheffield Wednesday’s defeat vs Middlesbrough, revealing that he thinks some players ‘expect’ to play each week.
Wednesday remain in 23rd place of the Championship table but are now two points from safety with six games left to play.
Sheffield Wednesday player ratings vs Middlesbrough
The Star‘s player ratings for the Sheffield Wednesday defeat vs Middlesbrough painted a sorry picture of the performance.
Beadle was the standout with a 7/10 rating.
Anthony Musaba was among those who failed to impress, along with Marvin Johnson who hasn’t performed well since that 6-0 defeat vs Ipswich Town last month.
Another player who struggled against Middlesbrough was skipper Barry Bannan.
The 34-year-old returned to the XI after a minor injury kept him on the bench for the 1-1 draw vs Swansea City last week.
But Bannan earned a 4/10 rating vs Boro in what was arguably his worst performance of the season so far.
Alex Miller wrote of Bannan’s performance:
“Passing radar off early doors. Wednesday couldn’t get the ball up the pitch and much of Bannan’s possession was too deep. Just couldn’t get going try as he might and was slapped in the face when he gave away a penalty with 11 to go, leaving his hand dangling where it shouldn’t.”
Barry Bannan’s 2023/24 season so far
Bannan is now in his ninth season at Hillsborough.
The former Aston Villa man has featured 36 times in the Championship but has just one goal and one assist to his name, compared to seven goals and 13 assists last season.
He’s played in more attacking and then deeper roles this season, under Xisco Munoz and then Rohl, with one or two minor injuries preventing him from playing in all 40 of the Owls’ Championship fixtures so far this season.
Sheffield Wednesday paying for over-reliance on Barry Bannan
For too long now, Sheffield Wednesday have relied too heavily on Bannan.
He remains a classy player; although this season won’t go down as one of his best, he’s still been, arguably, the standout player for Sheffield Wednesday.
He’s still shown his quality and pedigree in the Championship with some strong performances.
And he’s shown his commitment to the club having barely missed a game, and having not missed a game over Easter despite picking up an injury in the defeat vs Ipswich.
Bannan has no doubt played through pain in the last couple of days and that shows his love for the club.
But Rohl and Bannan should maybe have decided that he needed resting against Boro; the Owls did well in his absence against Swansea and upon his return to the XI vs Middlesbrough, he certainly looked leggy, and not at his best.
It made for arguably his worst performance of the season so far and how fit he is for a crunch match vs QPR this weekend remains to be seen.
Bannan certainly needs a better game than he did on Monday, though.