Sheffield Wednesday will after laugh ignoring QPR, Middlesbrough warning signs | OneFootball

Joe Lumley is playing well for Sheffield Wednesday after worrying stints at Queens Park Rangers and Middlesbrough.

Sheffield Wednesday have started their return to League One well and they look as they will be sustaining a genuine title challenge in the third-tier this time around, with Joe Lumley surprising many with his performances in net for The Owls.

Having been placed into administration last season, Sheffield Wednesday continued to restore pride and perform admirably on the pitch amid off-field chaos, reaching zero points with a defeat of West Bromwich Albion on the final day of last season at Hillsborough.

Supporters of Wednesday have now been able to shift their focus back to matters on the pitch and, despite some frustrating performances and results such as back-to-back goalless draws at home to Wigan Athletic and Stockport County, they have positioned themselves well after seven matches.

Sheffield Wednesday sit second in League One with just one defeat, against league leaders Bradford City, in their seven matches thus far – and only the league leaders Bradford have conceded fewer than them, too.

Not many would have expected goalkeeper Joe Lumley to be such a key part to a team challenging for League One promotion but he looks set to be that man in South Yorkshire.

Joe Lumley had flopped at QPR and Middlesbrough

Having com through the academies of both Tottenham Hotspur and Queens Park Rangers, Joe Lumley spent much of the previous 13 years out on loan from the latter with stints at Bishop’s Stortford, Accrington Stanley, Morecambe, Stevenage, Bristol Rovers, Blackpool, Gillingham and Doncaster Rovers.

However, Lumley’s trajectory at Loftus Road and with those loan spells was not plain-sailing not the usual gradual improvement and step up to become ‘number one’ in West London.

A few of them were as he grew into be an EFL goalkeeper primarily at Bristol Rovers and Blackpool before then being first-choice at QPR in the 2018-19 season and for much of the 2019-20 campaign but he then had to drop back down into League One at Gillingham and Doncaster after finally breaking through at QPR.

That is because of a tough time of it as the ‘number one’ at QPR with 1.4 goals conceded per game in the 2018-19 campaign and being at fault for goals conceded on a fairly regular basis before conceding the second most amount of goals per game on average in the 2019-20 campaign as well as having the fourth worst save percentage.

He eventually departed QPR for Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022 and again being in the bottom six for save percentage in the Championship for the 2022-23 campaign, and the third worst record for goals prevented, only bettering Dave Cornell and Alex Smithies of Peterborough United and Cardiff City, respectively.

His poor stint at the Riverside Stadium saw him loaned out to eventually relegated Reading amid The Royals’ financial issues in a season in which he had the worst goals prevented record in the division.

Joe Lumley is performing well at Sheffield Wednesday

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After a couple of seasons at Southampton as second but mainly third choice, that role continued on for Lumley at Bristol City when he joined The Robins in the 2025-26 season.

However, as was the case at Reading, a desperation for players in financially challenging situations, Lumley was loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday last year, deputising for Pierce Charles, who was sold to Manchester City and then loaned out to QPR over the summer.

Lumley, though, signed on a permanent basis at Hillsborough with Connal Trueman and Ashley Maynard-Brewer also arriving in the goalkeeping department.

Somewhat surprisingly, Lumley did still appear to be the first-choice out of those options and he has started and played all nine of Wednesday’s games across all competitions so far.

Even more surprisingly, the 31-year-old from Harlow has been key to Wednesday being so difficult to break down and score against in League One thus far.

Only Josef Bursik of AFC Wimbledon currently has a better save percentage than Lumley but that is purely down to Bursik’s freakish 100% record in three appearances since arriving at Plough Lane on loan from Portsmouth.

Lumley also has a positive goals prevented record of 1.2, putting him sixth in the division for that metric, and there have been no major lapses both in terms of his work on the ball and traditional goalkeeping exploits.

Good business done as Sheffield Wednesday continue to gel

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Sheffield Wednesday brought in 18 new signings over the summer and have put together what is a very impressive squad for League One level in difficult circumstances given the overhaul and complete rebuild that was required after their takeover.

Reaction to Henrik Pedersen’s interview in the aftermath of Wednesday’s goalless draw with Stockport does suggest some unrest within the fanbase over their overall performance level but Wednesday have still shown different strings to their bow as they continue to gel.

From a full throttle attacking demolition of Bromley, winning 7-2 in August, to hard-fought away wins at Leyton Orient, Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough United, showcasing their experience and nous that they have within the squad.

Improvement should be natural as teething issues ease and Wednesday continue to build into a potentially unstoppable force in the third-tier.

It remains a surprise but certainly a pleasant one that perhaps one of the more low key additions in Lumley is proving to be just as, if not more, fruitful than some of their more eye-catching pieces of business.