"Real warning signs" - Pundit raises concern over Danny Rohl, Sheffield Wednesday issues | OneFootball

The Owls have failed to score a single goal in any of their last three matches

EFL pundit George Elek believes Sheffield Wednesday have plenty to be worried about after suffering three straight defeats before the international break.

After starting the season with an eye-catching 4-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle, Danny Rohl’s side have failed to score a goal since, with defeats to Sunderland, Leeds United and Millwall.

After such high expectations for the Owls heading into the 24/25 season following their distinct turnaround in fortunes under the German last season, a promising summer of recruitment hasn’t yet had the desired effect.

And after looking at the underlying numbers behind those losses, Elek believes the Yorkshire side have some work to do over the next fortnight to improve their attacking output.

George Elek voices Sheffield Wednesday concerns

With 15 wins from 35 matches after taking over from Xisco Munoz in the previous campaign, Rohl had seemingly transformed Wednesday into a top level Championship side over the past 11 months, but those promising performances have dropped off in recent weeks.

A lack of sharpness in the final third has cost the Owls dearly against two of the sides hunting for promotion in Sunderland and Leeds, while more was expected against a Millwall side that had struggled at the start of the campaign.

With just one shot on target at The Den throughout the whole 90 minutes, a lack of cutting edge is apparent at this moment in time, and Elek is beginning to get worried about what he is seeing from the Steel City outfit.

He said on his Not The Top 20 podcast: “There are some real warning signs as to what is going on there right now, where I can’t really remember a drop off that has been so obvious from game to game as Wednesday right now.

“On opening day they put in one of the most dominant displays we’ve seen in the Championship, maybe ever, against Argyle where they win 4-0.

“4.68 expected goals that day, so it wasn’t a fluky 4-0 win where the finishing was good, it has to be one of the highest xG figures for an individual team in the Championship in the last few years.

“That came from 31 shots against Argyle, so in one game you have 4.68 xG and 31 shots, but in the three games since then Wednesday have lost all three games, 4-0 to Sunderland, 2-0 against Leeds, and 3-0 against Millwall.

“With Sunderland and Leeds you can look at the opposition, they’re possibly the first and second best teams in the division this season, but to go to Millwall - who are struggling - and be dispatched the way they were dispatched has to be some concern.”

The worrying underlying numbers behind Sheffield Wednesday’s performances

With Plymouth Argyle still searching for their first win of the season under Wayne Rooney, that opening day victory may prove to be the outlier in Wednesday’s opening sequence of fixtures, with three worrying performances to follow that Hillsborough win.

With creativity proving to be an issue for the Yorkshire outfit, chances are at a premium for the Owls, with just 0.16 xG from their 90 minutes in East London on Saturday highlighting that issue.

With Queens Park Rangers, Luton Town and West Bromwich Albion all in the fixture list before September ends, it could be a real test of Wednesday’s credentials this season, although Elek is worried about their attacking output.

He continued: “In those three games, in total they have created 0.97 expected goals from 21 shots, so that shows the marked drop off from earlier on in that time.

“Then you look at the actual amount of shots they are taking and the quality of chance per shot, where against Argyle it was 0.15 expected goals per shot, since then it has been 0.05 expected goals per shot, so again not only are they having fewer opportunities, but when they are taking them they are effectively from range.

“In every facet, the attacking threat has just completely dropped off, I wonder if because they played Sunderland and Leeds back to back there has been a crisis of confidence from an attacking standpoint, and that has affected their performance against Millwall.”

Danny Rohl faces new test as Sheffield Wednesday boss

Since Rohl was appointed at Hillsborough, it has been a case of being in charge of a team on the up for the majority of the time, with the style of play that he implemented marking a turnaround in fortunes throughout the previous campaign.

But the German seems to have had his card marked so far this season, with all three sides after Argyle able to nullify the threats they possess, and leave them unable to muster chances of their own.

As a result, Elek believes this is the biggest test the young boss has faced so far in his Wednesday tenure, with performances and results needing to turn around fast.

He added: “It’s obviously too short period of three games to throw around a terminal verdict of what is going on, but I do think it will be interesting, because we know there are a lot of managers that are very good while things are good, who do struggle what to work out what to do when things turn.

“And I do wonder with Rohl, with the opening game against Argyle is probably the easiest game they could have had, and you do wonder if teams have been doing their homework on what Rohl has been doing at Wednesday last season and worked out how to nullify that threat, because it’s ‘check them for a pulse’ time.”