Match preview: Wednesday v Southampton
New divisions. New managers. New playing styles. New beginnings?
Match preview:
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY v Southampton
Friday August 4 - 2000 BST kick-off, live on Sky Sports
New divisions. New managers. New playing styles. Pre-season upheaval. New beginnings? The Owls and the Saints have a lot in common as they have the honour of opening the 144th season of the English Football League in the first competitive game at our ground since The Miracle of Hillsborough 78 days ago.
Somehow the incredulous elation of that night (‘Bannan, Johnson floats it in for Aden FliIIIINT!!! THEY’VE DONE IT! THEY HAVE DONE IT! PALMER!’) 78 days ago and the relieved celebration of the 120+3 minute last kick of the game winner at a roaring Wembley 10 days later still linger; but much polluted by that all-too-familiar sinking feeling in the pits of our stomachs after the barrage of Darren Moore’s departure June 19 (https://www.swfc.co.uk/news/2023/june/club-statement/), the chairman’s five hour Fans Forum June 20 (https://www.swfc.co.uk/news/2023/june/fans-forum-on-tuesday-evening/) and his attempt at a Q&A nine days later (https://www.swfc.co.uk/news/2023/june/dejphon-chansiri-club-statement/) all of which led to more questions than answers and the turmoil of the years leading up to Championship relegation in 2021 suddenly felt closer in time than that most manic of Mays
New divisions:
Southampton didn’t so much slide as crash out of the Premier League, setting a new club history low of 25 points as well as the highest number of goals conceded (73) since their 1971-1972 season.
Wednesday also set club records, but at the other end of the scale: 96 points and 24 clean sheets. Modern football, however, isn’t about points, goals and clean sheets, but rather pounds, pence and revenue. Going into the game, then, Southampton aren’t exactly on a downer - having reportedly refused bids for players of £30m (Lavia) and £20m (Ward-Prowse) just this last week. And Wednesday aren’t so much a promoted side on a catapult-like rise, having started pre-season training July 2 (https://twitter.com/swfc/status/1675807720698519552) with just 18 contracted players and no manager.
New managers:
Southampton's Russell Martin was appointed 44 days ago (https://www.southamptonfc.com/en/news/article/martin-appointed-mens-first-team-manager), while Wednesday's Xisco Muñoz has had exactly one month (https://www.swfc.co.uk/news/2023/july/owls-appoint-xisco-munoz-as-first-team-manager/) in the hot seat. They’re both young in managerial terms (37 vs. 42 years of age) yet no novices (179 vs. 92 career games managed) and both exhibit a boisterous, positive energy that players quickly feel and take to. They both also have a lot riding on a season that places the heavy weight of expectation on them: Martin to take Southampton straight back up to the EPL and Muñoz’ Wednesday to somehow grasp for the top six the chairman said at the Fans Forum is the season’s aim.
New playing styles:
They're also both implementing playing styles that deviate significantly from what was before. Possession zealot Martin picking up the pieces from Southampton's non-distinct identity over three managerial reigns in a whimper of a relegation season and Muñoz focusing much more on what Wednesday do attacking with the ball than the onus Darren Moore placed on defending without the ball.
Both managers could have their sides coalesce and sparkle spectacularly, but both sets of fans will also likely have to stomach significant reverses as the implementation of so much new takes time. While Martin has added just two players - Manchester City’s Shea Charles and Swansea’s Ryan Manning - he has the luxury of any superstar sales giving him the option to recruit specifically for how he wants to play, so Saints’ approach in the market has been largely reactive.
Muñoz, despite being appointed later than Martin, has overseen a much more extensive recruitment drive. Before his appointment Reece James signed in a deal from Blackpool thought to have cost at most £150k while Marvin Johnson and Callum Paterson both signed new contracts. The 11 players that started in that Miracle of Hillsborough are all still contracted to the club, so Muñoz challenge will be fusing what he had with what he’s brought in.
Speed, tenacity and attacking intent has rightly been identified as the squad’s main ailment and all Muñoz recruits should add plenty of that.
They range from the more obscure to players with a point to prove and one more household name.
Chilean international right midfielder Juan Delgado - also capable at right back and in central and attacking midfield - joins on a free from the Portuguese second tier and has previously been described by Muñoz as ‘willing to break his chest for you’ (https://chile.as.com/futbol/chilenos-por-el-mundo/juan-delgado-llega-a-inglaterra-n/#:~:text=se%20rompen%20el%20pecho%20por%20ti) and this time around as ‘aggressive and will give consistency to the team’ (https://www.swfc.co.uk/news/2023/july/strengthening-the-squad/#:~:text=a%20player%20who%20is%20aggressive%20and%20will%20give%20consistency%20in%20the%20team).
Right back Pol Valentin for a reported £250k (https://www.transfermarkt.com/jumplist/transfers/spieler/380737/transfer_id/4540020) from the Spanish second tier lauded for his ‘very good intensity’ (https://www.swfc.co.uk/news/2023/july/pol-valentin-completes-owls-switch/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CHe%20has-,very%20good%20intensity,-.%20I%20know%20a).
Serial loanee Anthony Musaba reportedly on a free from AS Monaco (who retain a 20% sell on fee) and a winger with more dribbles in his locker than even Jermaine Johnson and described as having ‘a lot of ability one against one; lots of pace, good crosser of the ball’ (https://www.swfc.co.uk/news/2023/august/owls-land-anthony-musaba/#:~:text=lot%20of%20ability%20one%20against%20one).
Jamaican international Di’Shon Bernard - on a free - and Catalonian-Senegalese Bambo Diaby - undisclosed fee unlikely to be more than £200k - both join as central defenders with a point to prove and a career to reboot. The latter is true too of the more household name, Ashley Fletcher, who Muñoz sees as ‘complete; like a targetman, but also has he velocity to go into space’ (https://www.swfc.co.uk/news/2023/july/strengthening-the-squad/#:~:text=Fletcher%20is%20complete) and who joins on a season long loan from Muñoz’ previous employer Watford.
Both Fletcher, Delgado and Valentin have played for Muñoz before.
Colombian goalkeeper Devis Vásquez (https://www.transfermarkt.com/devis-vasquez/profil/spieler/495722) is also reportedly in England ahead of finalising a loan move from AC Milan, having signed for them from Paraguay’s Guaraní in January, but like Diaby (who serves the final game of a suspension) won’t be in contention for this game.
New beginnings?
Reports from Southampton’s pre-season indicate they could be taking to Martin’s methods rather more quickly than Wednesday fans would ideally have liked.
Muñoz, on the other hand, has been quick to use one word in the English language a lot: ‘Patience’. And always focusing on the improvements made, however incremental, in pre-season games rather than the level we’re at. It’s clear this isn’t an overnight change of gown, from a handmaid’s dusty grey to a sparkling red carpet piece, but the speed of Muñoz’ impact at Watford - where he replaced dour Ivic - perhaps brings hope.
A pivotal thing will be how Wednesday fans receive this manager, this team and these players. We’ve seen how Hillsborough can burn opponents to the ground when it’s at its cauldron best. But, at the same time, the size and cognitive drain of our wonderful stadium also carry lots of momentum to it when it is unfortunately travelling in the opposite direction: Toxicity, booing, ironic cheering, general chuntering and long silences never seem far away.
Our support will need to be less transitional and more solid based than Muñoz having a dream, to build a football team, he had no players so signed them all from abroad. With Fletch in attack, we play from the back - we’ll be (?) Sheffield Wednesday, we’re on our way back (?, and hopefully not to League One!).
As of this morning 4,000 tickets remain on sale for home fans, so despite the frankly insane ticket prices - the category D game being £37 to £48 for an adult ticket - it seems Hillsborough will be approaching something close to the (reduced, thanks SYP!) maximum of 33,314 there for last season’s closer (Posh in the Play-Offs had 31,835).
Teams:
Very, very hard to guess either team. Southampton’s quality of players and depth of choice is terrifying, but if their agents are working on moves for them they may not give the last 10% needed so as to avoid a transfer-stopping injury.
The tactical approach of either team and possibilities has been covered much, much better than I ever could here, so do go and give that a read - it has predicted teams at the bottom:
FWIW I think Wednesday will line-up as follows, in a 4-1-4-1:
Dawson
Paterson - Iorfa - Bernard - Famewo
Vaulks
Delgado - Byers - Bannan - Windass
Smith
Prediction:
Hoping, hoping, hoping for a 1-1 where we’ll have to ride our luck and suffer a lot of chances, but look increasingly effective in transition and turning the ball over higher up the pitch. I worry about our energy to keep with the game plan for the full 90 minutes, though.