One Sheffield Wednesday player seems to be receiving more criticism than most right now.
Following a rather terrible start to the 2024/25 season for Sheffield Wednesday, fans have begun to dish out the blame.
Manager Danny Rohl is receiving criticism for his inability to adapt to different opponents, summed up in the recent run of defeats.
Last time out, Sheffield Wednesday lost 3-0 vs Millwall at The Den, marking a run of three-straight defeats to leave the Owls in 20th place of the Championship table.
Rohl is also being criticised for an apparent over-emphasis on attack, at the neglect of the defence.
The players aren’t immune to criticism either. The defence and James Beadle in goal has been a talking point so far, with neither department looking overly-impressive.
Club captain Barry Bannan though seems to be the man at the fore of Wednesday critique right now.
Rob Staton believes criticism of Bannan is unjust, though Sheffield Wednesday fans feel like the 34-year-old hasn’t lived up to expectations this season, and that he doesn’t always suit Rohl’s style of play.
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Barry Bannan’s Sheffield Wednesday stats so far this season
Bannan signed a new Sheffield Wednesday contract in the summer, and has so far started and finished all four of his side’s league games this season.
As things stand, Bannan has the third-highest average passes-per-game at Wednesday with 45.4 per-game, behind Di’Shon Bernard and Michael Ihiekwe, but he does lead the way for key passes-per-game, averaging 1.8.
That said, Bannan tops the Wednesday stats table for the average possession lot-per-game, losing the ball 16 times-per-game.
Last season, Bannan averaged 39.6 passes per-game, 1.5 key passes-per-game, losing the ball 13.8 times-per-game last time round.
Where it’s going wrong for Barry Bannan at Sheffield Wednesday this season
The stats paint a pretty interesting picture of Bannan’s season so far at Sheffield Wednesday.
Firstly, it should be pointed out that, as the captain, Bannan will often receive the brunt of criticism, as he’s the main leader on the pitch, and Bannan will often take it on himself too.
Secondly, Rohl has further implemented his passing style of play this season, which has been evident in games, albeit without much success so far.
And it’s evident in the team’s passes-per-game stats, with Bannan averaging more than he did last season, but not topping the table like he did last time round.
And with more passes-per-game comes the possibility of losing the ball more, which is shown in Bannan’s possession lost stats for this season.
Bannan though is averaging slightly more key passes-per-game, which may be symbolic of the above, but may also suggest that his forward passing game has been sharper this season.
But the main talking point among fans right now is that Bannan just isn’t suited to the new style of play, and that Rohl may be better off having two more physical options in Shea Charles and Svante Ingelsson in the middle, leaving the passing to the centre-backs and wide players.
Bannan remains a key player and a proven Championship name though, so Rohl may adjust the system to get the best out of Bannan once again.