Wednesday 27th November 2019
SkyBet EFL Championship
at Hillsborough Stadium
Sheffield Wednesday (0) 1
Kadeem Harris 81
Birmingham City (0) 1
Alvaro Gimenez 48
Attendance: 22,059
Point & hope mobile phone pictures: Click HERE
Sheffield Wednesday:
Dawson, Fox, Lee (Forestieri, 56), Fletcher, Bannan, Borner (Lees, h/t), Reach (Nuhiu, 67), Luongo, Odubajo, Iorfa.
Unused subs - Jones, Pelupessy, Murphy, Hutchinson.
Birmingham City:
Trueman, Pedersen, Roberts, Colin, Crowley, Bela (Montero, 70), Clarke-Salter, Villalba, Bellingham (Davis, 82), Gimenez (Jutkiewicz, 66), Sunjic.
Unused subs - Camp, Harding, McEachran, Bailey.
Sheffield Wednesday's boss: Garry Monk, whose previous post had been the manager's job at Birmingham City, lit the blue touch paper in the build-up to tonight's game, when he was asked about his former assistant: Pep Clotet in his pre-match press conference and he made the following statement:
“In terms of... I don’t know what it is, is it interim, caretaker head coach? I don’t know what his title is. I don’t speak with him.
“What’s most important to me is when I’m assembling a staff around me and to work with me the key thing is to give them an opportunity and show them complete trust, and you hope that they repay that trust.
“Sadly not everyone has that character. Some choose to pursue their own opportunities in the worst possible way.
“The most important bit for me is you live and you learn. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t listen to a lot of people in Football circles who warned me about the character he is. That’s an error of judgement from myself but it’s a mistake I won’t be making in the future.
“I don’t want to waste any more energy on it.”
Monk also admits he was hurt by his sacking, claiming he’d saved a team that was heading in the wrong direction.
“A lot of the players at Birmingham were there when I was.
“I look back there with fantastic memories, the feeling the fans and players had was that they were dead and buried but we turned that around. The players were committed.
“I have a lot of respect for the players and fans. But decisions were made, whether you agree or not and you move on. It hurt me to leave the club at that time after we feel we did a very good job
“I’ve watched their last four/five games, I’ll always want that club to do well and the players there with me in their careers but obviously not on Wednesday night.
“My heart and soul is here and we are working as hard as we can to give the fan base success.”
Subsequently, Birmingham City responded to Monk's slight against his replacement in the St. Andrew's, on the club's official Twitter feed (see above).
The ‘you want to come’ comment is a reference to a reply given by Blues director Edward Cheng to a message posted on Twitter, by a disgruntled fan, back in September. When he invited the supporter to meet him in the club car park on his return from an away fixture. Whether that implied that Cheng wanted a 'straightener' with the supporter or a face to face discussion and an opportunity to explain a few facts, is still open to conjecture.
So let's not lose sight of the fact, that this was all about a game of football, between Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City, not some cringe-worthy 'let's sort it out behind the bike sheds after school' type kerfuffle between two former friends.
Dawson, Fox, Lee (Forestieri, 56), Fletcher, Bannan, Borner (Lees, h/t), Reach (Nuhiu, 67), Luongo, Odubajo, Iorfa.
Unused subs - Jones, Pelupessy, Murphy, Hutchinson.
Birmingham City:
Trueman, Pedersen, Roberts, Colin, Crowley, Bela (Montero, 70), Clarke-Salter, Villalba, Bellingham (Davis, 82), Gimenez (Jutkiewicz, 66), Sunjic.
Unused subs - Camp, Harding, McEachran, Bailey.
“In terms of... I don’t know what it is, is it interim, caretaker head coach? I don’t know what his title is. I don’t speak with him.
“What’s most important to me is when I’m assembling a staff around me and to work with me the key thing is to give them an opportunity and show them complete trust, and you hope that they repay that trust.
“Sadly not everyone has that character. Some choose to pursue their own opportunities in the worst possible way.
“I don’t want to waste any more energy on it.”
Monk also admits he was hurt by his sacking, claiming he’d saved a team that was heading in the wrong direction.
“A lot of the players at Birmingham were there when I was.
“I have a lot of respect for the players and fans. But decisions were made, whether you agree or not and you move on. It hurt me to leave the club at that time after we feel we did a very good job
“I’ve watched their last four/five games, I’ll always want that club to do well and the players there with me in their careers but obviously not on Wednesday night.
“My heart and soul is here and we are working as hard as we can to give the fan base success.”
The ‘you want to come’ comment is a reference to a reply given by Blues director Edward Cheng to a message posted on Twitter, by a disgruntled fan, back in September. When he invited the supporter to meet him in the club car park on his return from an away fixture. Whether that implied that Cheng wanted a 'straightener' with the supporter or a face to face discussion and an opportunity to explain a few facts, is still open to conjecture.
Either way, as regards this added sideshow of a situation, Monk turned his back on (and snubbed) Clotet as the Spaniard approached him and offered him a handshake before kick-off.
Football is a passionate game... and people do have differences and fall-outs. And invariably, all clubs have a massive turnover of staff, managers, coaches and players, on a fairly regular basis. Alas, it is almost inevitable, that a large proportion of splits and parting of the ways, won't be amicable, in a large number of cases, and a certain amount of acrimony will be inevitable. Each individual case has it's own unique potential to become even less harmonious as time passes by... and of course, there is always more than one side to every tale of woe.So let's not lose sight of the fact, that this was all about a game of football, between Sheffield Wednesday and Birmingham City, not some cringe-worthy 'let's sort it out behind the bike sheds after school' type kerfuffle between two former friends.
Monk set his bait, but Clotet didn't even so much as take a nibble, nor did he get involved with the mudslinging that continued after tonight's 1-1 draw.
It's sad that the former Blues (Swansea City, Leeds United and Middlesbrough) manager, now feels the need to play to yet another gallery at Hillsborough, to curry favour and ingratiate himself to a new audience, but it is, what it is.
In my humble opinion, Monk did an excellent job of galvanising things at Birmingham City, and put in a great deal of effort to engage with the fans, while getting everybody to sing from the same hymn-sheet, And I must concede that when he was still in situ at St. Andrew's, the taunts from opposition fans, aimed his way when Blues faced Leeds and Middlesbrough, did appear to be tinged with no small amount of bitterness and maybe even a sprinkling of envy.
But as facts begin to emerge, bit by bit, about the opposite side of the coin, as regards some of Monk's self-serving practices, that led to him being extricated from St. Andrew's; that self-same: "Fuck Garry Monk!" chant emanated from the away end tonight, along with "Garry Monk, your football is shit!" ad "Garry, Garry what's the score?", after Alvaro Gimenez had given the visitors a forty-eighth minute lead.
"Pep Clotet's blue and white army!" was also given an airing, by way of a testament to the Spaniard's more cavalier approach to tactics and the infusion of several flair players to the Blues mix, since Monk's departure.
Life goes on, planet football continues to rotate... and supporters who're in need of some reassurance that their club is on the verge of better things, love a manager who says things along the lines of: “My heart and soul is here and we are working as hard as we can to give the fan base success.”
Monk is a highly polished, tried and tested performer to this end, with an ever-increasing track record of 'quickies' and short term flings, as regards managerial appointments, that never seem to last very long.
And though I'd be very reluctant to put the boot in on him personally, after he steadied the ship at Birmingham City during a turbulent time, I can't help thinking that I've witnessed this scenario somewhere else before.
"Maybe he just wanted to move on and manage a bigger club this time", opined a Wednesday fan of my acquaintance.
For the record, the individual who is currently Sheffield Wednesday's first team manager (for the time being at least) didn't move on by choice... he was sacked.
And as regards: a bigger club... Really? Are you being serious?
Methinks somebody needs to take a reality check. The Owls are no bigger than Blues, or Swansea, Leeds and Middlesbrough for that matter. In fact, with all due respect, Wednesday aren't even the biggest club in Sheffield these days.
The first half was a really scrappy affair, dominated by Wednesday hitting long balls in the general direction of Scotland striker Steven Fletcher... it was an intriguing aside to observe the ball closely during these numerous examples of hoof-ball escapades, to see if it was going to descend back towards pitch level, frosted by a coating of snow, such was the sub-zero temperature in this chilly corner of south Yorkshire tonight.
Fran Villalba had Blues best chance, but he went for precision, rather than pace, from the edge of the Owls area and the hosts keeper Cameron Dawson was virtually afforded the opportunity to lay down and wait for the ball to arrive, rather than actually having to take a dive to reach it.
Despite their lump it and hope game-plan, the home side did produce the two best openings of the opening forty five minutes; the first when Kieran Lee broke free, forcing Connal Trueman into spreading himself, to block and then save the ensuing effort, shortly before Moses Odubajo ran in towards Trueman's goal from the right, before unleashing a dipping shot that crashed off of the top of the crossbar.
The second half started well for the visitors, when just three minutes after the restart, Alvaro Gimenez struck to give Clotet's side the lead, with a deft flick at the near post, from Jeremie Bela's right wing delivery, after Jude Bellingham and Dan Crowley had combined well in the middle of the park to set the ball in motion.
Kadeem Harris had quite a few of the home fans up out of their seats and cheering just before the hour mark, when in bulged the net in front of the Hillsborough Kop Alas, his effort had gone wide and fooled them all...but by heck! It was bloody close though.
Bellingham had half a chance to double Blues lead, but his shot cleared Dawson's crossbar.
Crowley got himself into a good position to shoot, but his shot barely troubled the Owls keeper.
Maybe the answer to Birmingham's lack of firepower, to add the finishing touches to some of their intricate passing movements appeared from the subs bench for the closing stages of the game, in the shape of Jefferson Montero (on loan from Swansea City), though he does seem to prefer a wide role, or with Bela who made way for the skilful Ecuadorian, but the jury is still out on both of them, as of yet, as they look to blend into the mix at their new club.
As the game moved into the final ten minutes, Harris spared his manager's blushes, with a well taken equaliser, that found it's way through several pairs of Blues players legs, before nestling just inside the right hand post.
Just when it had looked as though Birmingham were going to tough out an ugly win, they were now having to resort to some last ditch defending, as the Owls pumped the ball into Trueman's goalmouth and pressed for a goal that would clinch them a win.
Atdhe Nuhiu, on as a sub for Wednesday, forced a good stop from Trueman, while Massimo Luongo was a fraction away from nicking the points for the hosts, until Marc Roberts got in the way to make a headed clearance off of Blues goal-line.
FT: Sheffield Wednesday 1 v Birmingham City 1
Blues were hanging on a bit towards the end, but held onto a point.
On Saturday, they face another ex-manager: Gary Rowett, who recently took charge of Millwall, when the Lions visit St. Andrew's.
Wednesday meanwhile, face a trip to the Valley at the weekend to face Charlton Athletic, whose recent loss of form has seen them slide down the Championship table, following a promising start to the current season.
It's sad that the former Blues (Swansea City, Leeds United and Middlesbrough) manager, now feels the need to play to yet another gallery at Hillsborough, to curry favour and ingratiate himself to a new audience, but it is, what it is.
In my humble opinion, Monk did an excellent job of galvanising things at Birmingham City, and put in a great deal of effort to engage with the fans, while getting everybody to sing from the same hymn-sheet, And I must concede that when he was still in situ at St. Andrew's, the taunts from opposition fans, aimed his way when Blues faced Leeds and Middlesbrough, did appear to be tinged with no small amount of bitterness and maybe even a sprinkling of envy.
"Pep Clotet's blue and white army!" was also given an airing, by way of a testament to the Spaniard's more cavalier approach to tactics and the infusion of several flair players to the Blues mix, since Monk's departure.
Monk is a highly polished, tried and tested performer to this end, with an ever-increasing track record of 'quickies' and short term flings, as regards managerial appointments, that never seem to last very long.
And though I'd be very reluctant to put the boot in on him personally, after he steadied the ship at Birmingham City during a turbulent time, I can't help thinking that I've witnessed this scenario somewhere else before.
"Maybe he just wanted to move on and manage a bigger club this time", opined a Wednesday fan of my acquaintance.
And as regards: a bigger club... Really? Are you being serious?
Methinks somebody needs to take a reality check. The Owls are no bigger than Blues, or Swansea, Leeds and Middlesbrough for that matter. In fact, with all due respect, Wednesday aren't even the biggest club in Sheffield these days.
Fran Villalba had Blues best chance, but he went for precision, rather than pace, from the edge of the Owls area and the hosts keeper Cameron Dawson was virtually afforded the opportunity to lay down and wait for the ball to arrive, rather than actually having to take a dive to reach it.
The second half started well for the visitors, when just three minutes after the restart, Alvaro Gimenez struck to give Clotet's side the lead, with a deft flick at the near post, from Jeremie Bela's right wing delivery, after Jude Bellingham and Dan Crowley had combined well in the middle of the park to set the ball in motion.
Bellingham had half a chance to double Blues lead, but his shot cleared Dawson's crossbar.
Crowley got himself into a good position to shoot, but his shot barely troubled the Owls keeper.
Maybe the answer to Birmingham's lack of firepower, to add the finishing touches to some of their intricate passing movements appeared from the subs bench for the closing stages of the game, in the shape of Jefferson Montero (on loan from Swansea City), though he does seem to prefer a wide role, or with Bela who made way for the skilful Ecuadorian, but the jury is still out on both of them, as of yet, as they look to blend into the mix at their new club.
Just when it had looked as though Birmingham were going to tough out an ugly win, they were now having to resort to some last ditch defending, as the Owls pumped the ball into Trueman's goalmouth and pressed for a goal that would clinch them a win.
Atdhe Nuhiu, on as a sub for Wednesday, forced a good stop from Trueman, while Massimo Luongo was a fraction away from nicking the points for the hosts, until Marc Roberts got in the way to make a headed clearance off of Blues goal-line.
FT: Sheffield Wednesday 1 v Birmingham City 1
On Saturday, they face another ex-manager: Gary Rowett, who recently took charge of Millwall, when the Lions visit St. Andrew's.
Wednesday meanwhile, face a trip to the Valley at the weekend to face Charlton Athletic, whose recent loss of form has seen them slide down the Championship table, following a promising start to the current season.
