Sheffield Wednesday lost 2-0 against Burnley in the Championship on Saturday, handing the Owls a first defeat in three.
Sheffield Wednesday fans took a lot of optimism in Saturday’s game against Scott Parker’s Burnley, who looked as though they were still finding their best form.
Danny Rohl’s side had gotten a big win away at Coventry City before the break. And despite starting well against the Clarets, Wednesday eventually lost the game.
Burnley scored either side of half-time to move into 1st place of the Championship table, leaving the Owls in 17th.
Here’s five things we learned about Sheffield Wednesday after the Burnley defeat…
Too much Sheffield Wednesday play goes through Barry Bannan
Once again, Barry Bannan was at the centre of all things Sheffield Wednesday in their game against Burnley.
Being withdrawn midway through the second half, Bannan recorded 14 touches of the ball, 23 accurate passes (fourth-most of any Wednesday player), and three key passes (joint-most of anyone).
At times, Wednesday looked far too one-dimensional. It seemed predictable the build up play that they were attempting and in the end they were easily dealt with by Burnley.
Ike Ugbo desperately lacking confidence
Another game goes by, and it’s another where Ike Ugbo‘s barren spell in front of goal continues.
He’s not scored a league goal since April now, with just one for the Owls this season, coming in the Carabao Cup win against Grimsby Town in August.
Ugbo missed a sitter during the first half and won’t want to see it back. Right now, he looks a shadow of his former self.
Are Sheffield Wednesday making improvements on set-pieces?
Despite the defeat, Sheffield Wednesday looked relatively untroubled from set-pieces during the game against Burnley.
It comes after Sheffield Wednesday appointed Ben King as set-pieces coach, with conceding from set-pieces having been an Achilles heel for Rohl.
Against Burnley, the Owls looked to have shown improvements in this regard.
Olaf Kobacki is far from the finished article
One player who’s getting some flack on social media today is Olaf Kobacki, who started in attack.
The summer signing from Polish second tier outfit Arka has been a bit of a favourite among fans so far, for his energetic and combative performances in attack.
He’s shown glimpses of technical ability too. But against Burnley, Kobacki looked out of his depth.
He recorded just seven accurate passes but did win five out of 11 duels attempted, with just one out of four dribbles completed.
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Djeidi Gassama is still a diamond in the rough
There’s also a bit of stick on social media aimed towards Djeidi Gassama after the Burnley defeat, as the Frenchman came in for his first league start since the 3-0 defeat at Millwall in August.
Gassama though struggled to make a lasting impact. He got in good positions and had a couple of sights of goal, but couldn’t make them count.
He feels a lot like Anthony Musaba in that they don’t quite yet have that final end product. But there’s potential there to become top players.