Sheffield Wednesday star suspension tightrope would spoil Danny Rohl’s Steel City derby plans
Sheffield Wednesday star suspension tightrope would spoil Danny Rohl’s Steel City derby plans
Just four games remain until the biggest date on Sheffield Wednesday’s fixture list arrives, with the Steel City derby set for March 16th. But, the Owls will be sweating over one player’s involvement in that crunch match.
Sheffield Wednesday have enjoyed a fairly successful, if not inconsistent season so far, and currently sit in ninth place in the Championship table after the latest round of games.
Danny Rohl’s side are just three points off the top six, and hopes of a surprise play-off journey still linger around Hillsborough despite a crushing defeat to Coventry City at the weekend.
After that loss, Rohl demanded a rule change to allow VAR in the second tier, due to his team being denied a number of penalty shouts.
However, there is another rule he may well be lamenting soon if one of his players doesn’t stay disciplined in the next four games, with a brutal suspension looming.
Shea Charles is two bookings away from potential absence vs Sheffield United
As per Football League rules, players face a two-match suspension if they receive ten bookings by the 37th game of the season.
At the moment, Sheffield Wednesday star Shea Charles has eight cautions to his name after 33 games. The midfielder now needs to navigate the next four matches — against Burnley, Sunderland, Norwich, and Plymouth — without hitting double digits in terms of yellow cards.
The consequences of that would be severe, with game 38 of the season coming against, you guessed it, Sheffield United.
The Owls will be desperate to get revenge for the 1-0 defeat they suffered at Bramall Lane earlier in the season, and naturally need their top players available to get anything against one of the best teams in the division.
So, does Rohl gamble on Charles keeping his cool for the next four games? Or, will the Wednesday boss play it tactically and leave Charles out to protect him for the Steel City derby?
What can Sheffield Wednesday do without Shea Charles?
The problem for Rohl is that Charles is so important and influential that, ideally, he would want him to play every game. Hopefully, he can, and that suspension threat passes without actually coming to fruition.
But, let’s assume he does end up missing out, what do the Owls do without him? Among the squad, Wednesday have the likes of Nathaniel Chalobah and Svante Ingelsson who can step in to replace Charles, with the former the more suitable given his propensity to play a holding role.
The issue with that would be the fact that Chalobah does not possess anywhere near the dynamism and athleticism of Charles, which would in turn limit the freedom Barry Bannan normally enjoys thanks to Charles’ efforts behind him.
Bannan being allowed to push further up the field is a key part of Sheffield Wednesday’s creative efforts. Losing that could seriously harm the team, especially against a team as well-organised as Sheffield United, where a moment of magic could be the difference for the Owls.
Likewise, Ingelsson is a real engine in the middle of the park, but he prefers to play higher up the pitch, which would mean Bannan having to drop deeper. Either way, Wednesday are going to be severely limited without Shea Charles.
With Sheffield United desperate to avoid the play-offs, and the Blades also chasing down the Championship record points tally, even playing in front of the Hillsborough crowd will not be enough to make Wednesday favourites for this Steel City derby, and Charles being absent would further dampen the Owls’ chances of a crucial win.
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