Sheffield Wednesday: Homework pays off for promotion-chasing Owls

He is a workaholic and an obsessive planner.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos CarvalhalSheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal
Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal

And now Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal has given a detailed insight into his meticulous pre-match preparation.

Before every fixture, the Portuguese head coach and his backroom staff spend many, many hours identifying weak links and strong points in the opposition.

At Thursday’s press briefing, Carvalhal revealed he had already watched and studied three DVD’s of Nottingham Forest in action from this season.

Attention to detail is everything to Carvalhal. Nothing is left to chance.

“I like to see a minimum of three to four matches of our opponents,” Carvalhal told The Star.

“I have my staff working on the analysis but I prefer to see the games before receiving that information.

“I try to understand the team, the coach, the substitutions and exactly how they play.

“After I receive the video report from my staff, we compare notes to see if we saw different things. After that, we show the players what we to want show them and prepare the strategy.”

The Owls’ homework paid off. Carvalhal’s players executed his game plan to perfection, brushing aside Forest 3-0 at the City Ground to record their biggest victory on the road since Carvalhal’s surprise appointment.

For Carvalhal, gathering intelligence on teams is vitally important.

“I watch three or four videos and my staff probably see six or seven,” he conceded. “I have very good staff who analyse the opponents all the time. They leave at 7pm every day. They work hard to analyse everything from the team collectively to the individual players. They work hard to understand the different systems and how the team will play.”

Meanwhile, Owls officials are confident of a big turnout for Saturday’s home meeting with relegation-threatened Charlton Athletic. It was just over a month ago that Wednesday, lying sixth in the Championship with nine matches remaining, slashed ticket prices for the category G fixture.

Tickets are priced at £20 for adults, £15 seniors, Under-17s £10 and £5 for U11s. For more information, ring 0871 900 1867 or visit shop.sheffieldwednesday.co.uk.

In their last Hillsborough outing, 28,912 - the largest league crowd of the campaign - saw the Owls slide to a 1-0 loss at the hands of Rotherham United.