Behind Enemy Lines: Sheffield Wednesday

A new addition to Talk Of The Tyne is our “Behind Enemy Lines” section, we will ask the opposition a few questions and see if we can get the inside info we all crave, first up, we managed to get hold of Terry Hibberd of Owlsonline.com, here’s what he had to say.

After the two games of the season, do you think you have anything to fear from the Championship?

Welll it’s been a weird summer to be honest, we were optimistic of more players coming in and that hasn’t really happened. The players we have brought in have done OK so far, we can play against the best in this division on our day and beat them but it really does depend on which side of the bed we get out of. In our first game against Barnsley the first half performance was absolute quality and the 2-0 scoreline was a fair reflection. But then the second half represented how we can be so Jekyll and Hyde and they deserved to equalise.

What do you expect from the Championship this season, where do you think you’ll finish?2)

I would like us to improve on last year obviously, and I think higher than 12th is achievable. But I don’t think we’ll get to the playoffs.. 9th or 10th I reckon, but that would continue our trend of steady improvement.

Do you expect one of your side to be a real star in the division this year?

We have a couple of players who can shine and to a degree have had to after being thrust into the side, Tommy Spurr has started slowly this season but has been consistently playing well since he was introduced into the side a few years back.

An indication of how well he has done is that opposition managers see him as a left back, when in truth he’s a converted centre back, there were rumours you guys were interested in him a year or so ago as a development player.

Is there anyone else we should look out for on Wednesday night?

Marcus Tudgay is the one for us who is most likely to hit the net, he, like Spurr hasn’t set the world alight this season so far, but he is bearing the burden of being the only fit striker we have at the moment. He will always go down in legend at our place for his goal against our neighbours last season in front of their fans which was smashed from 25 yards into the top corner. Also, a former arch enemy of yours, Michael Gray. Although he’s been around longer than the Flintstones he is like an energizer bunny, he just doesn’t stop and he has that bit of nous that experience brings and I wouldn’t be surprised if he hit the net.

Is there any side in the Championship you REALLY want to beat?

There can only be one, The Blunts from Bumhole Lane. After doing the double over them last year it will take a lot to outdo that. Personally though I would like us to beat Barnsley at Oakwell, our players owe us a performance there after the last two visits have been dire.

What do you know about Newcastle?

Everyone knows about you lot, massive club, massive support, but you fell foul of the too good to go down tag like we did back in 2000. It’s not pretty down here and a bit of quality can shine through in this division, and you still have it in spades with Stephen Taylor, Kevin Nolan and Jonas Gutierrez. You get the feeling that you really need to put the brakes on the slide though, last weekend was a great result for you lot and I’m just glad your takeover hasn’t gone through yet!!!

Where do you think we will finish?

I reckon you will go back up provided you keep hold of the players you have for as long as you can and sort out the club.

This first half of the season will define what you do in my opinion, you have great support but it can go against you and I think if you don’t set the wheels in motion in regards to sorting the club out it could turn out to be a long season.

You will certainly find out who has the balls for a fight, there is some “unfashionable” football played in this division at times and you have to be able to mix it a bit if you want success.

Playoffs at least, with the players you have now.

Any team news?

We’re really struggling up front and we were trying to bring in a striker on loan before our trip but that’s not come off. So don’t expect too much from our strikeforce! Definately out are strikers Clarke and Sodje, so expect our pacey winger Jermaine Johnson up front.. He is VERY quick. Other than that we have a relatively settled side. So expect it to be something like.. Grant, Buxton, Spurr, Wood, Purse, McAllister, Potter, O Connor, Gray, Johnson, Tudgay.

Finally a score prediction?

I was quietly confident before Saturday but I must admit your result at the weekend made me think again, obviously our last trip to your place wasn’t good for us. So a draw would be a decent result although we are unbeaten we haven’t won yet, we need a win but I don’t think we’ll get it.

1-1

Thanks very much, enjoy the game!