This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.
Sheffield Wednesday recorded successive victories to move back into the playoff picture this weekend after the Owls defeated Brentford 2-1 at Hillsborough.
Snapshot
Garry Monk’s men had to come from behind to win after Bryan Mbeumo headed the Bees in front just before the half-hour mark.
But the 40-year-old’s change at half-time inspired Wednesday to a comeback with Steven Fletcher bagging a four-minute brace which was kickstarted from the penalty spot.
The veteran striker then curled one past the visiting goalkeeper to notch his tenth of the season, giving the Owls all three points for the second time this week.
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Off the Bench
Monk stuck with a 4-4-2 formation with Atdhe Nuhiu once again partnering the 32-year-old, but the Kosovan could do very little to impact the match.
The 6 foot 5 colossus managed just 23 touches of the ball, 11 of which saw him lose possession while he could only muster up a passing accuracy of 53%, so clearly, his influence on the match was detrimental more than positive.
It meant that the Owls chief made a brave yet bold decision to give Jordan Rhodes a rare opportunity – the 29-year-old had played just 29 minutes all season since Monk took charge in September.
But his introduction spurred them onto victory as the club-record signing gave Fletcher a more mobile partner, which didn’t go unnoticed by supporters after the match with many praising his movement.
Per SofaScore, Rhodes saw one shot blocked and won 75% of his duels. Though, the most important thing was the reaction from the Hillsborough faithful as he had been pretty much written off up until this point.
The former Blackburn striker’s value has substantially decreased during his time in south Yorkshire with Transfermarkt rating him at just £2.7m, so it only goes to show how much his worth has sunk in the space of a few years.
However, he could still play a part in Wednesday’s promotion charge, especially if 4-4-2 is to remain.
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In other news, another Owls man has been receiving his fair share of praise despite being a marmite figure at Hillsborough…