One Sheffield Wednesday figure appears to be getting away with very little criticism after the defeat vs Middlesbrough.
Sheffield Wednesday fans are now, largely, predicting League One football next season.
Just a few weeks ago, the idea of Wednesday even finishing within the mid-table region was being talked up.
But after four games without a win; and since the international break, a frustrating 1-1 draw vs Swansea City followed up by a dire performance in the 2-0 defeat vs Middlesbrough, relegation now seems more likely than not.
Middlesbrough 2-0 Sheffield Wednesday leaves Danny Rohl fuming
We’ve never seen Rohl so full of mixed emotions after a game as we did on Easter Monday.
His post-match interviews suggested he was angry, disappointed, and all-round frustrated at how his side have returned from the international break.
But more so with how his team fell to defeat against Middlesbrough.
One thing that we’ve been able to consistently say about Rohl’s Sheffield Wednesday is that they always press, they always work the opponent and give their all.
But at the Riverside, those effort levels seemed to drop, and that’s arguably what frustrated Rohl the most.
Sheffield Wednesday fans critical online after Middlesbrough
And fairly enough, the Wednesday faithful have let their feelings known online after that defeat at Middlesbrough.
Rohl, for perhaps the first time since he took charge back in October, is coming under scrutiny.
A criticism of Rohl that’s now emerging is that he sets his teams out to be too attacking away from home; we saw that to be the case in the 6-0 defeat vs Ipswich Town and arguably, again, against Middlesbrough.
His team selection has also raised a few eyebrows; like how Bambo Diaby starts at centre-back over Liam Palmer.
Then there’s the players coming under the spotlight, and similar to the case with Rohl, Barry Bannan has been criticised after Middlesbrough.
Bannan struggled to get going against Middlesbrough and it’s shone a light on a persistent, over-reliance on the 34-year-old.
Dejphon Chansiri is the man who needs to be questioned after Middlesbrough
Not just after the defeat at Middlesbrough, but after this season as a whole, one man needs to take the brunt of fans’ criticism; owner Dejphon Chansiri.
He’s set the team up to fail this season following a calamity of errors that stretches back well beyond last summer.
The fact that half of the team are out of contract in a few months is a sign of poor planning.
The team is also very aged, lacking balance, and lacking any real star quality.
Last summer, the likes of Ipswich Town recruited so well that they’re now pushing for the Premier League, whereas Chansiri broke the bank (at least in terms for him of late) to bring in players like Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama who’ve proved to be fairly average on the whole.
And Bannan’s poor performance against Boro arguably came as a result of the Scot having to play, despite a recent injury, due to the lack of depth and quality in the midfield, which is at fault of the owner and his makeshift transfer planning season after season.
Rohl is doing the best with what he has. But what he has simply isn’t good enough to sustain Championship football.
When the going is good, Chansiri seems to go under the radar. But scratch beneath the surface and one will find that the a good run of form only paints over a catastrophe unfolding at Sheffield Wednesday this season.
Poor results then brings that catastrophe to the fore.