This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Sheffield Wednesday will be looking to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat when they host Swansea City at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon.
It will be no easy feat considering the Welsh outfit are also in the running for promotion this campaign. They currently sit four points above the Owls amongst a trio of teams all on 28 points.
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Garry Monk’s side have only lost the two games under his stewardship, but a worrying trend has emerged in south Yorkshire as they have struggled to find the net – scoring just 11 goals in his nine matches in charge.
Prior to his arrival, under caretaker boss Lee Bullen, Wednesday bagged eight in just six games, so there has undoubtedly been some regression since September.
On the Chalkboard
Monk, a former centre-back, has quite clearly made improvements in defence which is no surprise given his playing career.
The Owls have kept four clean sheets in those nine games while no team in the division has conceded fewer goals at home – just three in seven games, two of which came in the Queens Park Rangers defeat.
Finding a solution to this problem outside of the transfer window is a hard task, but at Wednesday, they have the right personnel for there to be an easy solution.
And it won’t impact their defensive strength either.
It is clear to see that despite having a plethora of options in attack, Monk doesn’t quite think it is viable to run a 4-4-2 system often – only really when the presence of 6 foot 6 Atdhe Nuhiu is needed. Neither Sam Winnall or Jordan Rhodes can get much game time at all.
Then there’s the ‘special talent’ Fernando Forestieri, who is yet to start since returning from suspension, but he could hold the keys to potential success by playing in the number ten role – or if not him, Adam Reach.
A 4-3-3 formation can bear fruit for the 40-year-old as it is the formation that Bullen operated with to a reasonable level with Barry Bannan and Sam Hutchinson sitting as the midfield two.
That’s the perfect balance between creativity and muscle with the Scotsman ranking joint top for assists and his counterpart joint top for tackles per game – via WhoScored.
You only have to look at how West Brom are playing to know that a similar formation can pay serious dividends in the Championship.