Soccer Football – FA Cup Third Round – Sheffield Wednesday v Newcastle United – Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, Britain – January 7, 2023 Cameron Dawson and his Sheffield Wednesday team-mates celebrate after the match REUTERS/Carl Recine
This article is part of ‘The Football League World’s Verdict‘, which provides personal opinions from FLW writers on the latest news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Sheffield Wednesday are heavy favorites to win the League One title this season despite still not pulling away from Plymouth Argyle.
The Owls have bided their time this season, but since the turn of the year have established a seemingly bulletproof level of consistency that will likely see Darren Moore guide them back to the Championship.
He has assembled a very high-profile squad for the third tier on Wednesday and could arguably field two separate XIs of the quality required to finish in the top six.
We collected the thoughts of a selection of FLW writers to see if they think this current team will hold on to the Championship this season…
Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson
It is really difficult.
Just because of how consistent they’ve been in League One, I’m going to say yes.
I really admire Darren Moore and the job he’s done not only this season but at the end of the last one.
Their side may dominate games, but even when they aren’t playing well, they have the ability to get results when needed.
As such, I think they would survive in the Championship, but without more additions, maybe not by much.
jose cabbage
When you consider that Wednesday has lit up League One this season, their current group of players would no doubt cause problems for most Championship teams if the club were involved in this division.
Barry Bannan, Josh Windass, and George Byers would be an asset to teams that reside in a higher tier than the Owls, and therefore it wouldn’t be surprising if they continue to help the Owls achieve great success in the second. level if the club secures promotion later this year.
Since there seems to be a clear lack of quality in the teams currently fighting at the bottom of the Championship, the Owls would have nothing to worry about in this hypothetical situation.
Provided they end up returning to the second tier later this year, Wednesday should look to follow in the footsteps of Sunderland, who have achieved great success in their first season in this league.
marcus ally
It can often be an easy thing to say, as the teams at the top of the bottom division win far more games than those at the bottom of the top league.
In this case though, this is definitely true, Wigan Athletic and Rotherham United have been worse since winning automatic promotion from League One last season and this Wednesday the team would finish above both of them in the second tier.
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After those two we’re just looking for one more to say Wednesday would stay up, with the way Blackpool are going there’s no argument they’re a better team than the Owls.
That midfield of Bannan, Byers and Vaulks is an upper mid-table second tier trio and with Windass in the form it is, they are unlikely to be threatened with relegation if they compete in the Championship this season.