This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk might have cost his side the opportunity to come away with a result on Saturday afternoon.
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Snapshot
The Owls were tasked with a trip to league leaders West Bromwich Albion, and they failed to capitalise on the key absences of Romaine Sawyers and skipper Jake Livermore as they were defeated 2-1 at the Hawthorns.
Charlie Austin’s late 88th-minute penalty secured all three points for the home side after Steven Fletcher had tied things up half an hour earlier through a spot-kick of his own.
However, the Wednesday boss turned to Atdhe Nuhiu in an attempt to salvage a point in the game’s dying stages.
Off the Bench
The move was quite simply a baffling choice, not only because of the timing – in the 89th minute – but too because one of their best players in recent years was still sat twiddling his thumbs on the bench.
In the time between the Owls’ equaliser and the Baggies’ winner, the visitors were well on top, recording eight shots to Albion’s one, per WhoScored.
This is ultimately something Monk should have taken advantage of as the game was there for the taking, and sat in his palms was two-time top goalscorer Fernando Forestieri – one of the only players in the Wednesday squad with a bit of flair about him.
Last time out, the 29-year-old’s introduction changed the game against Swansea City as he bagged a crucial equaliser which very nearly set them up to win the whole match before another late goal pegged them back.
In the 2018/19 campaign, Forestieri averaged 1.6 dribbles, 1.8 shots, and was fouled 2.4 times per game, which only goes to show how dangerous of a threat he can be, and that’s excluding his previous exploits of 15 and 12 goals in back-to-back seasons via Transfermarkt.
Forestieri has played just 73 minutes worth of football under the 40-year-old since he took charge at the start of September.
The continued exclusion of the Italian forward, who can play wide and in the number ten too, is only going to hinder the side more than anything else – he could have been introduced when they were majorly on top, maybe the end result would have been different.
