Sheffield Wednesday: Carvalhal gives his backing to ‘bad boy’ Hutchinson

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Sam Hutchinson has been urged to carry on his all-action style despite accumulating an astonishing 10 bookings in 15 games.
Owls' Sam Hutchinson flies in to stop Hull's Mohamed Diame (Picture: Steve Ellis)Owls' Sam Hutchinson flies in to stop Hull's Mohamed Diame (Picture: Steve Ellis)
Owls' Sam Hutchinson flies in to stop Hull's Mohamed Diame (Picture: Steve Ellis)

The 26-year-old former Chelsea player is serving a two-match ban for reaching double figures, having already served a one-game suspension when he hit five bookings.

He missed last weekend’s 3-1 win over Huddersfield Town and misses Saturday’s Championship trip to Blackburn Rovers.

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“Yellow cards? That’s the way he plays,” said Owls head coach Carlos Carvalhal.

“It’s not red cards, they are yellow cards. I have other players to play in the position when he can’t play.

“We need him the way he plays, we need Sam like this. If he misses one or two games, becuase he has yellow cards, that’s not a problem to me.

“It’s a problem if he plays in a different way, and doesn’t play with the high intensity which we think he must play.

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“I am happy with what he is doing. He has played a lot of games compared with the past.

“He is doing 90 per cent of the training, so we don’t need to preserve him. I think he is happy, too, with the work and performances.”

Owls captain Glenn Loovens has improved his own disciplinary record, collecting just one yellow card, as opposed to 10 last season. He has tried to give Hutchinson some tips on how to cut out the bookings.

“I try to have a word every game but it has not helped so far. He’s a very aggressive player and that’s what makes him the player he is.

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“Of course, sometimes he goes into a challenge where you think ‘that’s not the smartest thing to do!’”

If Hutchinson reaches 15 bookings he will receive a three-game ban, although he has some way to go to beat Notts County’s Jason Lee, who, playing in League Two, picked up 18 yellows in all competitions in 2006-07.

The same season, Jonathan Douglas was booked 13 times in the Championship as Leeds were relegated. He received 16 in total, two more in the League Cup and another on international duty with Republic of Ireland.

In the Championship, Millwall’s Tim Cahill was booked 15 times in 2003-04, the same figure as Birmingham’s Paul Robinson two seasons ago.

Several players share the Premier League record of 14, Sunderland’s Lee Cattermole joining them last season.