The Owl Is Everywhere

Billy Mitchell arrives, cameras are circling, and one big question hangs over a new-look Wednesday.

Hello everyone. England’s World Cup dream may be over, but Wednesday’s promotion dream is just getting started. The club has its identity back, and Wednesday’s senior leadership is making everyone aware that they mean business. The last time I wrote to you we had just signed Louie Barry, and the club announced the best home shirt in 30-odd years. I have a feeling that the away shirt, and third strip will both be equally pleasing on the eye.

There have been some subtle but needed improvements to the training ground. The Owl can be seen everywhere, and I love it. As a football writer it’s not always easy to be objective, but our badge does something to the soul. It really is Sheffield Wednesday through and through.

The Owl is everywhere

There have been some subtle but needed improvements to the training ground, and the Owl can be seen everywhere. I love it. As a football writer it’s not always easy to be objective, but our badge does something to the soul. It really is Sheffield Wednesday through and through.

And it seems we might not be the only ones who have noticed something special is happening at Middlewood Road. A film crew has been spotted at the club’s pre-season camp at St George’s Park, with talk of a documentary capturing the early days of this new era. Nothing is signed yet, and there’s no broadcaster attached, but the fact that cameras are circling tells you everything about where this club is heading. There’s a story worth telling here, and we’ve known that all along.

Filling the gloves

Pierce Charles’ exit meant there was a big hole to fill between the sticks. The experienced Joe Lumley arrives back at Hillsborough to fill it. Lumley made two appearances for us last season, so he club is familiar to him, and he’s a welcome addition to the first team.

Mitchell makes his move

This morning the club announced the arrival of Billy Mitchell, a product of the Millwall academy who went on to make 197 appearances for the club. That’s a lot of football in a demanding division for a player still on the right side of his peak years, and it’s exactly the kind of durability Wednesday will need over a 46-game League One slog. The £3m rated midfielder arrives just in time for the club’s trip to Hungary, and we can expect to see him operating as a No.6, sitting in front of the back line and letting the players ahead of him express themselves. It’s another step towards completing the first team jigsaw, and Mitchell’s arrival takes Wednesday’s squad value to £16.5 million (source).

The Hungary trip itself is a statement of sorts. A training camp in Budapest, followed by a run-out against Stoke City in Vienna, is not the pre-season of a club feeling sorry for itself. This is a squad being built properly, tested properly, and prepared properly.

So where will the goals come from?

Last week I spoke to a friend who supports Ipswich. He asked me if he could drive George Hirst back to Sheffield himself. I laughed, and although I’d welcome him back with open arms, that’s a deal that is never going to happen. It did get me thinking, though. Where will the goals come from this season?

There’s plenty of time left in the window, and Simon Wilson has done an excellent job so far in what really is a new-look Sheffield Wednesday. But his biggest job is still ahead of him. Find us the goals, Simon, and this promotion dream starts to look like a plan.

Finally, Wednesday’s League One title odds have shortened from 7/1 to 11/2 with Paddy Power.

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