Glaring issue for Danny Rohl still remains after rewatching Sheffield Wednesday’s defeat to Cardiff City last season 

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Sheffield Wednesday have made solid progress under Danny Rohl since the German’s appointment but a number of key issues remain apparent for The Owls.

This season, in particular, EFL pundits have slammed Wednesday’s inconsistency. This can be seen clearly in the Owls’ recent Championship form, with Rohl’s side struggling to replicate positive performances.

There is no doubt that Rohl is doing a good job at Hillsborough, considering his impact in keeping Wednesday in the Championship last season. This inconsistency, though, will prevent the German from truly creating an Owls side from challenging the top of the table.

However, inconsistency isn’t Sheffield Wednesday’s only problem that needs solving, with one problem as glaringly apparent today as it was when The Owls lost Saturday’s opponents, Cardiff City, last season.

Poor finishing cost Sheffield Wednesday vs Cardiff last season

Rohl has criticised Wednesday’s decision-making this season but the same traits were clearly apparent nearly 12 months ago, especially in the finishing department.

The Owls’ 2-1 defeat to Cardiff in December last season was difficult to believe based on the match stats.

Wednesday had over double Cardiff’s seven shots with 18 but only managed five on target. These weren’t all shots from range, either, with eight of the strikes coming from inside the Cardiff box.

The hosts even had ten corners to Cardiff’s three, but only managed to turn all of these opportunities into an expected goals of 0.84.

Ike Ugbo will likely be tasked with leading the current crop of Wednesday attackers as they look to improve on last season’s efforts. They need not look far for inspiration, though, as the goalscoring floodgates were opened mere weeks later for The Owls against the very same opponent.

Owls found goalscoring touch in FA Cup clash with Cardiff

Just two weeks after their league meeting, Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City locked horns again in the FA Cup, where a much different story played out.

An early strike from Josh Windass, followed by goals from Liam Palmer, Mallik Wilks and an own goal saw Wednesday run out 4-0 winners in the contest.

The Owls have only scored four goals on two more occasions since that day, as Rohl and his Wednesday coaching staff continue to struggle with a lack of a clinical edge in their squad.

With Sheffield Wednesday’s inconsistency issues, it’s hard to predict whether Rohl will see a performance like last season’s league clash, or the rampant display seen in the cup a fortnight later.