What AI thinks would happen to Sheffield Wednesday if Barry Bannan became manager after new revelation | OneFootball

Artificial intelligence has it's say over Barry Bannan's managerial future

As Sheffield Wednesday captain, Barry Bannan has never been one for half-measures.

Over ten years and more than 400 appearances, the 35-year-old midfielder has become the Owls’ most consistent presence through promotion pushes, managerial sackings, near-misses, and now administration. In a club defined by constant change, he's been the one constant.

So when Bannan revealed this week that his long-term future still lies at Hillsborough - even beyond his playing days - it carried real weight.

“I reckon I’ve got two or three seasons left in me,” he told The Times.

“Hopefully I’m here for at least a good period at the start of the new ownership and beyond that. When I retire, I’d love to always be involved in this club - whether that be coaching or the academy.

“My dream is to become a manager one day and, obviously, the place I’d want to do it is here.”

For Wednesday supporters facing another drop into League One, further points deductions, and ongoing ownership uncertainty, there are few figures who still command trust. Bannan is one of them.

The idea of him stepping from dressing room to dugout, however, is both appealing and risky.

What an AI prediction says about Barry Bannan as a manager

When asked to sketch out what a Bannan-led Sheffield Wednesday might look like, ChatGPT produced a vision that feels entirely plausible.

The club would likely develop "a clear, possession-focused identity shaped by his own playing philosophy," with "a side built on technical midfielders, brave buildup play, and high standards of detail - essentially a team trying to control games the way Bannan has always tried to control them from the pitch."

The analysis predicted he'd bring "a strong dressing-room culture and authority." Leadership, in other words, wouldn't be an issue from day one.

But the AI also identified the biggest tension: the clash "between Bannan's idealism and the realities of League One/Championship football under an inconsistent ownership structure."

These divisions reward physicality, depth, financial backing and consistency more than they reward pure philosophy.

Wednesday, under Dephon Chansiri’s recent ownership, have struggled to provide managers with any combination of those four things.

The verdict? "With the right support and recruitment, he could build a recognisable, modern playing model and push Wednesday toward the top end of whichever division they're in."

Without it, the prediction is more measured: "cultural improvements and a more coherent style, but also inconsistency as the squad adapts."

The analysis concluded by calling it "a romantic, high-stakes appointment." That feels about right.

The reality that Barry Bannan may soon inherit as Sheffield Wednesday manager

Before any managerial dream can take shape, Wednesday must survive the present.

A 12-point deduction for administration has essentially confirmed another relegation, with the threat of further penalties still unresolved.

League One has a track record of humbling ambitious clubs. Sunderland, Derby, Bolton, Portsmouth, and Charlton all learned that reputations count for nothing at that level.

Relegation, though, may actually suit Bannan as a player.

Not because he isn't still exceptional at Championship level - he clearly is - but because in League One he becomes the differential, the one player on the pitch capable of bending games to his will.

In the Championship's increasingly athletic environment, that edge is harder to maintain.

If he plays out two more years as planned, Owls supporters will get to watch Bannan's final chapter unfold in a division where his quality stands out even more sharply.

Everything beyond that - coaching roles, academy work, and eventually perhaps the manager's job - becomes a bonus rather than a given.

Player-to-manager transitions at their clubs are inherently risky. Sentiment doesn't guarantee nous or ability, and football history is littered with beloved players who struggled in the dugout.

Whether he becomes the club’s future manager is another question entirely, but the AI’s prediction - idealistic, technical, culturally transformative but vulnerable to structural weakness - feels like a fitting metaphor for the current state of Sheffield Wednesday itself.