What Henrik Pedersen said after Sheffield Wednesday loss in Steel City derby has got fans talking - Ike Ugbo decision questioned | OneFootball

The fallout from the Steel City Derby continues, and Sheffield Wednesday fans are unhappy about one tactical non-decision made by Henrik Pedersen.

If Sheffield Wednesday fans were looking forward to Sunday's Steel City Derby against Sheffield United for signs of hope that their fortunes on the pitch were improving, they would have been left disappointed.

A crowd of almost 33,000 packed into Hillsborough for the match, but United ran out easy 3-0 winners, leaving the Owls rooted to the bottom of the Championship table and still staring relegation in the face, a month before Christmas.

There are obvious structural reasons why Sheffield Wednesday are in the mess that they're in. The transfer restrictions put in place as a result of the mismanagement of soon-to-be former owner Dejphon Chansiri have had a severe impact on the team's ability to remain competitive on the pitch this season.

But in the immediate aftermath of a defeat of this nature, that broader picture won't matter as much to fans, and head coach Henrik Pedersen is now starting to come under pressure, with one particular decision that wasn't made especially coming under the spotlight.

Sheffield Wednesday fans scathing about Ike Ugbo following Steel City Derby thrashing

When the official Sheffield Wednesday account on the social media platform X posted Pedersen's post-match thoughts on the match, Wednesday fans were quick to focus in on one particular player who wasn't substituted until the 73rd minute.

Ike Ugbo had started the match leading their frontline in a 3-4-2-1 formation, but was withdrawn having failed to have an attempt on goal all match, and Wednesday fans had a lot to say about the fact that he'd remained on the pitch for so long in the first place.

Some Wednesday fans saw an immediate improvement once changes were made, and were perplexed as to why changes hadn't been made when it was clear that the system chosen for this match simply wasn't working, even those who'd kept faith in Ugbo for a while.

While others went as far as to say that Sheffield Wednesday are hampered by him being on the pitch in the first place, to the point of it being detrimental to the team in an overall sense.

Another Wednesday supporter is keen to give Pedersen more time until the club are out of administration, but he evidently does not agree with the decision to keep Ugbo on the pitch for so long.

And with the January transfer window just over a month away, one Owls fan believes that if a takeover is done by then and they can replenish their squad, Canada international Ugbo needs to be showed the exit door.

Ike Ugbo criticism is a warning that Henrik Pedersen cannot afford to ignore

Of course, in the immediate aftermath of a defeat like this, fans are going to be at their most intemperate in the way in which they talk about the extent to which players haven't performed, but the nature of the discussion of Ike Ugbo was backed by the statistics.

By the time he was withdrawn in favour of Charlie McNeill after 73 minutes had been played, he'd had 15 touches of the ball all game, two of which had been unsuccessful.

He failed to have a shot on goal and had lost possession of the ball eight times, losdt both of his ground duels and only won three of his nine aerial duels, while of the ten passes he managed all game, only five of them were successful.

Ugbo has been struggling all season. He's played in 15 of their league games - although he's only started six - and has failed to score a single goal or create a single assist.

In total, since making his loan move to Sheffield Wednesday permanent in the summer of 2024, he's only managed two goals in 56 appearances in all competitions, and both of those came in the Carabao Cup.

The criticism of Sheffield Wednesday fans is something that Henrik Pedersen cannot afford to overlook. New owners are coming to the club, and their most immediate job will be to get the team functioning something like competitively.

And while a lot of attention with regard to the team's shortcomings on the pitch has been hogged by the problems raised by transfer embargoes, it's not difficult to see how any new owner might see how changing the manager as well as bringing in new players could be a way of trying to reverse their fortunes.

There's no question that Henrik Pedersen has been put into an extremely difficult position by the way in which Sheffield Wednesday were managed under their previous regime. But football is a results-based business, and there have been few indications that this team is anywhere near the level required to be competitive in the Championship.

If big changes are coming soon at Sheffield Wednesday with new ownership, two of the victims of the necessary clearing out of the old that is so desperately needed at the club could well be both Ike Ugbo and Henrik Pedersen.