Sheffield Wednesday: Five things that the Owls must address in 2015-16

The Owls’ vital statistics were eye-catching, if not entirely for the right reasons.

On the plus side, they equalled a club record of 17 league clean sheets in a season with their rearguard being the embodiment of solidarity, with a formidable last line of defence blocking rivals’ way in the shape of Kieren Westwood, named by his peers in the PFA Championship team of the year.

The Owls’ defensive stinginess equalled the exploits of Jack Charlton’s class of 1979-80, no mean feat that.

Only the promoted duo of Bournemouth (37) and Norwich City (48) and play-off finalists Middlesbrough (37) conceded fewer league goals than Wednesday (49).

Now for the not so good news....

The Owls’ league goals tally of 43 was better only than the relegated trio of Millwall (42), Wigan Athletic (39) and Blackpool (36).

Their miserable haul of 16 home goals at Hillsborough was the lowest in the entire Football League along with York City - and their account of five league wins in 23 games on home soil was only marginally better than Wigan and Blackpool.

Wednesday’s top-scorer in the league was Atdhe Nuhiu with a meagre eight Championship goals.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduce where the Owls’ priorities are next season.

Here’s five things for Stuart Gray’s men to do if they are to achieve their aims in 2015-16.

1: Find a goalscorer. Not just one, but two.

Towards the end of the campaign, Stuart Gray increasingly sang from the same songsheet and bemoaned the same old story. Goals or a lack of them. Wednesday’s potency in the attacking department was thoroughly lamentable and while Atdhe Nuhiu had some good days - just ask Middlesbrough - they were too infrequent.

Strike partner Stevie May also failed to acclimatise to life in the Championship with his haul of seven goals a big disappointment, considering that he scored goals for fun for St Johnstone the previous season.

Top strikers cost top dollar and the onus is now on the Owls recruitment team to stump up the cash or come up with a few gems for competitive fees, never easy.

Sergei Bus had a patchy introduction to English football, not helped by injury and too much pressure should not be placed upon the shoulders of young Caolan Lavery, who has potential but is still a work in progress. The Owls need seasoned operators at the business end, you would venture.

2: Improve the supply line to the forwards. Getting Lewis McGugan would be a start.

Without the ball, the Owls were organised and disciplined and in terms of keeping their team shape, they were clearly among the best in the division, which is tribute to Gray’s skills as a technocrat coach of some repute. But with it, the Owls too often lacked guile, spark, magic, the X-factor - call it what you will. Spontaneity and off-the-cuff attacking play was conspicuous in its absence for large swatches of last term - although the commitment and work ethic could not be questioned.

The permanent capture of loan player McGugan, whose positive play at times and ingenuity with the ball was a breath of fresh air, would be a start.

3: THAT pitch....

There was no tears shed as the wretched pockmarked surface at Hillsborough was ripped up shortly after their final home assignment of the season against Leeds United. In mitigation regarding the Owls lack of innovation on the pitch, a desperately poor surface - comfortably the worst in the Championship alongside Blackpool’s - hardly helped with ‘playing a certain way’ the modus operandi for both the Owls and visiting sides at Hillsborough for most of the season. It was often a case of having to play the percentages, be pragmatic and utilising set-pieces, although it has to be said that poor surfaces don’t totally preclude ball-playing footballers.

Just look at the seventies when plenty of talented players excelled on a plethora of rank-bad surfaces, which were often the norm. But a vastly-improved surface at Hillsborough will be welcomed, for sure - by home players and the paying public among others. It won’t be an excuse next season, as Gray concedes.

4: Keep Kieren Westwood.

The Republic of Ireland custodian had a restorative campaign to savour at Hillsborough and while his shot-stopping prowess was without question, his organisational skills in marshalling a back four should not be under-estimated. Behind every good defence is an excellent goal keeper, who exudes composure in his back four, who you sense are mighty glad to have Westwood behind them. If the rumours are to be believed, Westwood’s performances have attracted levels of interest from the top-flight. Wednesdayites will be desperate for him to stay.

5: Walk the walk in the transfer market.

It’s a big summer for the new broom at Hillsborough and chairman Dejphon Chansiri, with the shock exit of a proven transfer operator in Adam Pearson, someone with a vast contacts book that Wednesday were clearly hoping to utilise, representing a blow that the Owls could have seriously done without. Plenty of onus in now on the shoulders of Glenn Roeder and Pearson’s replacement Paul Senior to identify targets and get deals over the line, with player recruitment a key remit of the sporting committee that Chansiri put together in the spring. In recent seasons, recruitment has often been at a snails’ pace at Hillsborough, with fans desperate for some meaningful movement this summer.