Ahead of tomorrow’s teatime clash with the Owls of Sheffield I caught up in the week with Sky Sports presenter and Wednesday fan, David Garrido…
Cheeky question for starters (given your current employer) … what do you make of 5:30 kick-offs? A fan? Long ol’ haul back on a Saturday night for Wednesday fans.
David: Ah, you can’t keep everyone happy all the time! It’s not ideal for fans to travel either late or early, or even on a Friday night, but it is the current world of sports broadcasting that we live in. Admittedly, also don’t forget that EFL clubs earn money when they’re shown live on Sky Sports. It’s nice to get a bit of prominence away from the 3pm kick-offs from time to time.
Nice swerve David, and that’s definitely one way of looking at it. I’m personally not overly precious over kick-off times but can see for those who regularly go away they can be a proper pain.
Thoughts on the Owls’ season so far? You seem to be draw specialists – certainly of late – but I also annoyingly notice you’ve won more away games than you’ve lost so far. Hhmmm
It’s been frustrating – I think most fans would agree with that. After two play-off campaigns, I think some were expecting a summer of perhaps four or five signings, and a concerted push for automatic promotion. That obviously hasn’t happened, and the style with which we played especially in 2015-16 isn’t as much in evidence. But we’re unbeaten in seven, we’ve had a few decent results, especially winning at Aston Villa, so if we can replicate that at Carrow Road…
Unbeaten in seven? Compared to our ‘eight without a win’! *And you have a decent record at Carrow Road. *Gulp*
What’s Carlos Carvalhal’s standing like right now amongst Wednesday fans? I spotted some flak flying after you lost 4-2 to ‘that lot’ from t’other side of the city. For a reason unknown we were linked with him in the early summer pre the arrival of Daniel Farke. Not sure if there was ever anything in it to be fair but presumably it was linked to rumours of Wednesday offering him only a one-year deal?
What a question! The fans are split at the moment, I would say. The derby defeat was obviously very painful – we simply didn’t turn up that day at Hillsborough. I haven’t heard anything to suggest that the club were looking to replace Carlos in the summer – it was sorted out relatively quickly after the end of the season…Carlos didn’t want to leave, and so he stayed – simple as that.
I think everyone has to take responsibility – chairman, manager, players – and most crucially as far as the bits we can control as fans, we have to get behind the team and not get on their backs, not snipe at them or one another on social media afterwards, etc. I’m all for people having their own opinion…but what does constant moaning actually achieve?
Good question that… not sure of the answer but we’re bloody good at it in these parts. In fact moaning is arguably what we do best. Unfortunately right now there is plenty of scope for said pastime.
How closely have you followed the goings on in Norfolk? We’re an unhappy little ship in case you hadn’t heard 🙂 ‘Tailspin’ and ‘freefall’ have bandied around liberally during our current run.
I’ve been aware of you guys perhaps not performing to maybe the potential and talent in your squad, but then I nuance that by saying it’s the Championship – just look at the other sides who are in the bottom half of the table: Reading and Fulham who were both in the play-offs last season, Hull and Sunderland who were both in the Premier League last year. I apply the same to Wednesday.
It’s one of the toughest divisions in the world and no-one has a right to just go up because they’re a “big club” or because they’ve “got history”. Consistency is key…achieve that, and you’ll get away from the danger zone.
Agree with all of that and we are guilty of wallowing in an unwarranted sense of entitlement at times. Don’t for heaven’s sake mention the “got history” line in Ipswich though. They love it. Love it.
Regardless of its alarming lack of success right now, what are you thoughts on City’s business/football model? IE. A managing director and a sporting director to both oversee the separate elements of the business, a self-financing model reliant only on TV money and gate receipts and an entirely Germanic coaching team.
I think sometimes you’ve got to try these things – Germans are in fashion right now anyway: Klopp, Wagner, etc. We’ve got the same thing now with our coaching team and medical staff being mostly Portuguese.
I do wonder how Wednesday would do with a CEO of some sort and/or a sporting director or director of football…because right now we have neither officially in post. For me, the most important thing is communication – between board, coaching staff and players, and that everyone is on the same page. Easier said than done, granted. But I applaud the ambition to try something different. Why not?
Nice to hear that but don’t mention it in earshot of Ray Wilkins. He blew a gasket when Farke was appointed. He didn’t actually say “bloody foreigners coming over here…” but he didn’t need to. He lambasted us for ‘not treating British coaches with much respect’ even though Daniel was the first non-British managerial appointment in the club’s history. He lambasted us. We lampooned him.
But enough of that. Who’s stood out for Wednesday this season? Gary Hooper still plodding around making a nuisance of himself? One thing you’re not short of is strikers who score …. unlike us!
Hoops has been our most consistent player this year – eleven goals and counting in all competitions, he plays between the lines, and perhaps out of all of our forward players, he understands right now better than anyone how to play with any of the others. It was nice to see Jordan Rhodes and Adam Reach get in amongst the goals – if they can maintain that, I have no doubt that we will get up towards that top 6. Barry Bannan is has been getting back to some of his best form recently, when he dictates tempo and knits play together.
The elephant in the room, although he won’t appreciate me calling him that, is Fernando Forestieri. The last time I did a Q&A with you [for the match programme], I picked him as the player to watch, our biggest threat, etc. etc. – and then he effectively boycotted the game. But that is all water under the bridge. Once he gets back from his rehab after knee surgery, I’m sure he’ll be welcomed back with open arms by team-mates and fans alike…because we need him! I’m still firmly of the opinion that Nando is unique: a goalscorer, a fighter, unpredictable but able to win a game single-handedly.
Ha! Yep, he did your big build-up a disservice last August but there’s no doubting his quality when he’s on it… and when he’s fit. That he’s not playing tomorrow is no bad thing for us.
Am assuming you’re still fancying a place in the top six? Top two seem to be disappearing into the distance don’t they. How does a play-off semi against Chris Wilder’s High Flying Blades strike you? Must irk seeing them up there?
Fancying is a strong word…hopeful of, yes. It’s a long season, and we’ve still got more than half of it to go. A lot can change between now and May…and it’s like the old adage of “you can’t win the title in December, but you can lose it” – in a similar way, we need to be in contention for play-offs and then hope we can hold our nerve when it really matters. I remember looking at last season’s fixture list and in particular at the run of seven games we had in April, thinking: “we’d better be virtually certain of top six, or we’re toast.” We drew the first game, won the other six, and made play-offs with a game to spare.
I am definitely not a Sheff Utd hater – but obviously don’t like them being higher than us in the table. We’ll see what happens between now and 6th May, and whether their squad can hold out with the inevitable injuries, suspensions and dips in form…if it’s us and the Blades over two legs, or even one at Wembley, it’ll be amazing for the city of Sheffield.
I admire your respect for your neighbours. If only I could be that mature about our own rivals!
Bog standard sign off question: a prediction?
Wednesday to get another big away result: a 2-1 win to keep the unbeaten run going and lift confidence going into Xmas.
Hard to argue with that based on the current form of both sides but, on the basis our home form has to click at some point (doesn’t it?) and minus any logic whatsoever, I’ll go 1-0 City.
Cheers to David for his time… much appreciated.
Hi Gary
Another good read.
Having lived in Hoyland between Barnsley and Sheffield for 2 years in the early 80’s you had to know which pubs had what supporters in.
My wife’s second team is Sheff United while the rest of her family are Wednesdays followers and tomorrow she has already told them city will win god help her if we don’t turn up for this game.
As an Ipswich supporter who has a “mature” attitude towards Norwich I am slightly surprised that most Norwich oriented journalists seem to have a chip on their shoulder about Ipswich. I don’t find quite the same attitude amongst Ipswich oriented journalists, certainly not the ones I read, they rarely even mention Norwich. I have been trying to figure out why that is so. Amongst ordinary fans on both sides attitudes are fairly similar of course.
Cheers for the comment John T… and respect. Not sure ‘chip on the shoulder’ is strictly true. I think the term is banter. Besides… I’m a fan rather than a journalist.
Fair enough. I think the guy who writes the match reports on TWTD is also a fan, but he seems to manage an impressive degree of objectivity. Anyway as an exile from East Anglia I have a soft spot for Norwich, my first ever game was at Carrow Road, long before any of you I suspect ever went there. I seem to remember in those days one of the Norwich players was called Bacon, which greatly impressed me!