Source: FOOTYMAD
Can the Owls take the home form on the road to end away day blues?
Wednesday must take home form with them this week Sheffield Wednesday closed in on the top six in League One on Saturday by beating league leaders MK Dons at Hillsborough 3-1. The result maintained the Owls 100% home record in the league this term, making it 4 wins from 4 but it is on the road where the Owls have had their problems, picking up just 1 point from 3 games and also getting dumped out of 2 cup competitions on their travels. If Wednesday are to mount a promotion challenge then they need to start picking up results on their travels and with 2 away game in the next week now would be a good time to find some form away from S6. The 1st league defeat at Bournemouth came with 2 playing up front for Wednesday but since then manager Gary Megson has adopted a more cautious formation in away games without a great deal of success. The Owls actually started with a 4-4-2 formation in their 2nd away game at Bury and had the better of the opening exchanges before falling behind inside 10 minutes. An injury to striker Chris O’Grady shortly before the half-hour mark saw Wednesday revert to 4-5-1 and what followed was a largely disjointed performance. In the cup games at Blackburn and Bradford the visitors went with 1 up top and Danny Uchechi playing in a more reserved, wide role. Early goals conceded at Blackburn put that game out of reach and at Bradford the Owls created very little before being knocked out on penalties. At Charlton in the last away game it was a 4-5-1 one formation once more and yet again an early goal conceded put Wednesday on the back foot. In the 2nd half Megson changed to 2 up-front and his side were much more competitive, coming back to earn a good point in a 1-1 draw. The performances of Gary Madine in particular have been like chalk and cheese at home compared to away. At Hillsborough the forward has bagged 5 goals in the past 3 games and has also provided assists. This contrasts with the fact he is yet to score in an away game this season where he has often been employed as a loan striker and has looked isolated without adequate support from midfield runners. When Jermaine Johnson returns to full fitness then the 4-5-1/4-3-3 may be more effective as his pace and directness will give the opposition plenty to think about but until then Wednesday surely seem better served by going into away games with 2 strikers and taking the game to their opponents more. Conceding early goals has been the Owls downfall so far on their travels but sometimes the best form of defence is to attack and a more positive approach has to be worth considering if Wednesday are to put an end to their poor run of away results.
