Monk Takes The Reigns... So What Next?

So Garry Monk is the man Dejphon Chansiri has entrusted to take Sheffield Wednesday back to the Premier League. The former Swansea, Middlesbrough, Leeds and Birmingham manager was confirmed last Friday just days after Danny Cowley was reportedly in advanced talks to take the job. Ironically Monk's first game in charge is on Sunday against a struggling Huddersfield team now managed by Cowley after he was confirmed as the new Terrier's boss on Monday, not long after turning their initial offer down stating it would have to be the "perfect opportunity" to take him away from Lincoln.

As Monk gets set to take charge of his first game, there are a couple of things Owl's fans will be hoping he can look at as the club looks to get back to winning ways and get back on course in their quest for promotion.

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Plan B

Wednesday had a good start to the season under Lee Bullen, winning three of their first four leagues games but their last two matches in the league have drawn criticism from some fans that there seems to be no Plan B when things aren't going right.

The home game against Luton was a lackluster display and saw Wednesday struggle to get to grips in the first half before Kadeem Harris bundled the ball home early in the second half and grabbed the three points.

Against Preston at Deepdale, The Owls were again sloppy and unable to pose a real sustained threat. Jacob Murphy was taken off at half time and replaced by Fernando Forestieri as Wednesday looked to the Argentine to provide a threat and some flair in the attacking third. Not until the final twenty minutes did Wednesday start to put Preston under pressure. By that time Moses Odubajo had given away two clumsy penalties and The Owls were 2-0 down. Steven Fletcher grabbed what turned out to be just a consolation but attention after the match focused on Wednesday's seemingly lack of ideas when under pressure and needing to adapt.

Lee Bullen can't hide his frustration during the 2-1 loss to QPR

In Wednesday's last game before the international break against QPR, Lee Bullen went with more of a 4-4-2 formation, the idea being to have Forestieri in and around Fletcher and to help support the big man up top. Despite taking the lead, Wednesday turned in their worst performance of the season so far and went on to lose 2-1. The team's performance was labelled nothing short of abject by fans. There was frustration again at the approach taken by Bullen and the result/performance seemed to end any hopes he had of getting the manager's job on a permanent basis.

Monk was known at Birmingham for playing more of a 4-4-2 formation, with Che Adams up top playing off Lukas Jutkiewicz, a combination that scored 36 league goals between them during last season. Whether he adopts that system with Wednesday is yet to be seen, but it would offer an alternative to the 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 style that has been undertaken so far with the squad since the start of the season. With an abundance of strikers to choose from, there's plenty of choices who all offer their own individual talent. It would also help take some of the load off Fletcher who isn't known for been a 15-20 goal a season striker.

However he goes about it, it's clear the manager needs to address this as fans are not content with ploughing on with one idea if it isn't working. Successful managers and teams are able to adapt to situations before and during a game to ensure they remain solid defensively and still offer a threat when going forward.

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Rediscovering the old Forestieri and Jordan Rhodes

Both players divide opinion these days amongst Owls fans, some saying Wednesday should cash in and others saying they are quality players we should keep.

Forestieri was signed and became an almost instant fan favourite under then boss Carlos Carvalhal. During his first season at Hillsborough he scored 15 league goals as Wednesday came within 90 minutes of returning to the Premier League. At the same time Rhodes was in what would be his final season at Blackburn Rovers where his form had been nothing short of superb. He actually finished the season with Middlesbrough after signing during the winter transfer window. He scored a combined 16 league goals for both clubs but the move would turn out to be one that has since seemed to harm his career to date. Rhodes struggled to break into a Boro team then competing in the Premier League during the 2016/17 season.

Forestieri came back for the 2016/17 season and carried on where he left off, scoring 12 league goals and continuing to dazzle fans at S6.

Rhodes and Forestieri could yet prove to be influential to Wednesday's attack

The story of what has happened to both players since this time includes a combination of injuries, suspensions, inconsistent form and changes in managers and playing styles.

Rhodes was brought to Wednesday when Carlos Carvalhal was still at the club but from his debut at Wigan, it was clear he had been signed by the management with no intention of adapting the squad to play to a style which suited Rhodes and how he had played all his career. He was known as a poacher who was lethal in the box, yet Wednesday played him more like a target man. Rhodes would be left isolated during games and looked a shadow of the player who had scored 91 Championship goals in the previous four seasons. He scored 3 goals in 18 league matches that season and has gone on to score just a further 11 league goals for Wednesday and Norwich respectively since. If one thing is clear with Rhodes, it's that he scored the amount of goals he did earlier in his career because managers played to his strengths. They set up to get balls into the box and let Rhodes do the rest. His confidence hasn't been good at all for a few years now but in this current Wednesday squad with how they have been playing, with wingers driving forward, full backs overlapping and crosses flying into the box, Rhodes could quite easily rediscover his form and blossom this season. He won't be going anywhere else for the foreseeable and he's fit and had a good pre season so now would be as good a time as any recently to get him involved on a more consistent basis.

As for Forestieri, its been a more complex situation. Injuries have never been too far away, likewise the suspensions (The most recent/current one causing the most uproar amongst the fans as having already been cleared by a court of using racist language during a pre season match back in 2018, the football authorities took action this season by slapping him with a six match ban and £25,000 fine).

The Argentine played his best and most exciting football under Carvalhal but has still shown flashes of his brilliance since Carvalhal's departure. It's just been a case of getting him fit and instilling that confidence in him the last couple of seasons. His goal last season away at Norwich showed fans what they've been missing and Monk will surely be wanting to keep him fit and get him back involved as soon as his suspension finishes.

Both players have their own traits that any team would love to have, it's whether Monk sees that and decides to get them more involved in the first 11. I personally believe both could play a massive part. I'm not saying Rhodes is the same as he was at his peak, but Wednesday don't have someone with his predatory instinct up front and I stand by my opinion he would easily get 12-16 league goals minimum in this team if he was consistently playing. As for Forestieri, if he stays fit and finds his form consistently, he walks into Wednesday's team and probably most teams in the league. He seems to have put the injuries behind him so provided he comes back from suspension fit and gets his head down, there's no reason Monk couldn't have these two players firing Wednesday up the league.

There are obviously other things that Monk will need to address during the season, but it's been a steady start and the squad has shown promise that with the right approach, they can pose a real threat to anyone in the league.

Huddersfield will be a tough game. The fact they haven't won in 17 matches in all competitions doesn't bode well for Wednesday considering any team on any kind of bad run always seem to break it against them. Hopefully the new manager effect will work and Garry Monk can kick off his reign with three points.