Darren Moore’s Sheffield Wednesday ruthlessness shows no time for sentiment as Championship beckons

Who’d be a football manager, eh? Days after celebrating promotion with his Sheffield Wednesday players Darren Moore had to tell some that they were no longer required.

It happens every year in football… Players leave, contracts expire, and teams get broken apart. But it’s not every year that clubs go through what this club has just gone through.

The desolation at London Road. The Miracle of Hillsborough. The ecstasy of Wembley. This group has been through practically every emotion you can think of together in the last few weeks, but still the chop has to come – and Moore has shown that there’s no room for sentiment as they head into a highly-competitive Championship.

All of the senior players that have been released have had their moments this season…

Jack Hunt, a long-serving Owls favourite with almost 200 games under his belt for the club, didn’t play nearly as much as he would have liked, but the 32-year-old’s cool-as-you-like penalty in the playoff semifinal will go down in folklore at S6. He came back for a second crack at promotion, and got exactly that.

David Stockdale will be remembered for his work off the pitch as much as on it, showing time and time again why he’s so well-liked in the game. But his 11 clean sheets played a huge part in promotion, and his cowboy hat won’t be forgotten.

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Dennis Adeniran quickly became a popular member of the squad, smile beaming. His assist for the winner against Newcastle gave Wednesdayites a brilliant memory and his wonder goals in the Carabao Cup weren’t bad either.

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 29: Darren Moore, Manager of Sheffield Wednesday, celebrates after the team's victory and promotion to the Sky Bet Championship in the Sky Bet League One Play-Off Final between Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley Stadium on May 29, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images) — LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 29: Darren Moore, Manager of Sheffield Wednesday, celebrates after the team’s victory and promotion to the Sky Bet Championship in the Sky Bet League One Play-Off Final between Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley Stadium on May 29, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

Jaden Brown was another who would’ve loved to play more, but whether it was at left centre back or left wingback, he always gave all he had. He was hugely important in wins over Charlton Athletic and Peterborough United, doing his bit for the cause.

Ben Heneghan, bandaged and bloodied against Cheltenham Town, showed the sort of player he is. Injury sadly cut short his season, but he showed in his 13 matches what a warrior he is.

It would’ve been easy, I suppose, to buy into the sentiment. To look at each of these players as part of the story, part of the family, and keep them around for 2023/24 purely based on the part they played in this historic season.

But Moore’s got a job to do, reluctantly or not, and has shown a ruthlessness that maybe some feared that he might not have. He’s not afraid to take big decisions – Liam Palmer’s midfield move proved that – and he’s not afraid to be ‘the bad guy’ when he feels it’s required.

Not everyone will agree with his decisions, but they’ll certainly respect them.

As they sat on the steps in the town hall, chanting ‘Darren Moore’s Barmy Army’, many will have already had a feeling that their time at Hillsborough was coming to an end, but every one of them can leave knowing that they’re etched into the history books at S6.

After all, we’re all Wednesday, aren’t we?