Source: FOOTYMAD
Owls of derision
Wednesday feeling the pressure after back to back defeats Sheffield Wednesday slumped to a second home defeat in a week at Hillsborough on Saturday as Ipswich came away with three points thanks to a 1-0 victory. The defeat was met with a chorus of boos at the final whistle and there was little to encourage the home fans throughout the 90 minutes in what was a very disjointed display. In the past the home fans have been criticised in some quarters for putting too much pressure on the team but after what was served up on Saturday it is hard not to express frustration and disappointment whilst encouragement needs to work both ways, the team need to give the supporters belief that they can play their way back into games. Had it been a one off performance then it may have been easier to stomach but on the back of Tuesday’s display against Doncaster another lacklustre performance all round was hard to take. After the initial boost brought by the arrival of Alan Irvine Wednesday have been brought back down to earth with a bang and the honeymoon period is most definitely at an end. The past two performances were arguably two of the worst the Owls have produced at Hillsborough this season, perhaps with the exception of the WBA and Reading games though at least in the case of the Baggies the opposition were worthy of being a class apart. With fourteen games remaining the Owls find themselves deep in the mire in the Coca-Cola Championship. Only a point separates them from Crystal Palace in the final relegation spot and lets not forget that Palace are only down there thanks to a ten-point deduction. The Eagles and plenty of the other clubs that are in trouble have a game in hand on Wednesday, who realistically need at least six wins to secure their Championship safety. The Owls have managed just one clean sheet in their last sixteen matches and only two teams in the division have conceded more goals. Alarmingly, from the reverse fixtures of the fourteen teams they have left to play this season Wednesday have collected a total of only eight points
