After being left out the squad under Munoz, his performance against Birmingham shows exactly why Munoz was wrong.
Sheffield Wednesday are in a relegation battle in the Championship.
The Owls are currently sitting in 23rd position, and are just five points adrift from safety.
They started the season under the guidance of former Watford manager Xisco Munoz, who was sacked after picking up just two points from their opening ten games.
He was replaced by Danny Rohl, who has managed to lift them off the foot of the table to within sight of safety.
One player who is excelling under Rohl who was left out by Munoz, is Marvin Johnson.
Marvin Johnson’s situation with Munoz
Johnson has been at the club since the summer of 2021, having joined from Middlesbrough. He has gone on to make over 100 appearances for the club since his arrival.
He was given a contract extension in the summer, having made 51 appearances across all competitions for the Owls last season, being a key cog in their promotion-winning team.
Munoz was appointed as manager after Darren Moore was sacked, having guided them to promotion via the play-offs.
Unfortunately for Johnson, Munoz did not see what Moore had seen in him the season prior.
This led to him being frozen out completely, with Johnson not even registered to play whilst he was in charge.
Munoz was then sacked in October, which gave Johnson a chance to redeem himself and remind the Wednesday fans of his qualities, and prove Munoz wrong.
So far this season, he has done so. He has scored three goals and assisted three more in 16 Championship games since his return to the side in early November.
His form even attracted interest from promotion chasing Ipswich Town in the January transfer window, with Wednesday reportedly rejecting a £1 million offer for him.
But it was his last match against Birmingham City that is one where he stands out.
Performance against Birmingham highlights why Munoz was wrong
Johnson has been consistently performing well this season, and his latest performance against Birmingham shows that.
Wednesday won 2-0 against the Blues at Hillsborough on Friday night, with a brace from Ike Ugbo giving the Owls all three points.
But Johnson was given an 8.7 rating by FotMob, claiming the assist for Wednesday’s second goal.
Johnson delivered a brilliant dinked cross, gaining great height to allow Ugbo to climb over the defender and head in from close range at the back post.
He also completed 64% of his passes, with 13 passes going into the final third, and made two accurate crosses, showing that Johnson was at his creative best.
The 33-year-old also showed his defensive capabilities, winning four tackles, making three clearances (two of those headed), eight recoveries and two blocks.
He also won ten ground duels and two aerial duels.
Marvin Johnson stats v Birmingham, 09/02/24 (as per FotMob) | |
---|---|
Minutes played | 88 |
Assists | 1 |
Accurate passes | 25/39 (64%) |
Chances created | 2 |
Touches | 75 |
Tackles won | 4/7 (57%) |
Ground duels won | 10/12 (83%) |
Johnson’s latest performance against Birmingham just adds to what a huge mistake it was by Munoz to leave Johnson out of the squad.
It is a testament to Johnson’s mentality to keep working, fight his way back into the squad, and keep putting in brilliant performances’ week in and week
out at Championship level.