Josh Windass’ place in Sheffield Wednesday history should be secure. I suspect his impact is being somewhat overlooked since his recent departure during a calamitous summer at Hillsborough.
Let’s start with the record-breaking statistics. No player has scored more Owls goals since the turn of the century. His tally of 53 will take some beating, given how much Wednesday have struggled over the years to find consistent, regular scorers.
Then there were the goals. Windass will be a candidate for a Puskas nomination for his strike against Derby from inside his own half. If you ask the player himself, he thought his wonder goal at Blackburn a season earlier – from a similar distance – was even better. Even so, it’s a crime that the Derby goal didn’t win the EFL’s goal of the season. Windass could produce magical moments and as a commentator, having witnessed many of them, players like that are ‘worth the entrance fee alone’ as they say.
There’s also the goal he will be most fondly remembered for among Owls fans – the Wembley winner against Barnsley. A promotion-winning goal right at the death, sending the mass of blue-and-white shirts behind the goal into ecstasy. Truth be told Wednesday were poor in that final but nobody ever talks about that. Windass read the play, was in the right place at the right time and gave Wednesday fans their first winner in the national stadium since Mark Bright in 1993.
I’ve interviewed Windass many times and appreciated his unpredictable nature. He could be very honest and open. You also knew when you’d asked a question he wasn’t fond of, because it’d get short shrift. It was never a boring conversation and in a world where many interviews are run-of-the-mill, this was a player willing to avoid the predictable answer.
On one occasion Joe Crann from the Sheffield Star and I were given an opportunity to interview Windass for a podcast during a training camp in Spain. It was brilliant – and the conversation after even better.
It’s a little bit disappointing to see some – and it’s only some – Wednesday fans criticising Windass’ decision to leave. He and Michael Smith had their contracts mutually terminated amid a saga that has seen players and non-football staff face delayed payment of wages.
It’s amazing, really, that anyone is being criticised for wanting to move on. I’m not sure any of us would fancy sticking around given what’s happened recently.
Wrexham, Windass’ new club, are a stark contrast to Wednesday. Beloved owners, ambitions of going further than their rapid rise to the Championship, international attention. They’ll be an attractive destination for many players.
Yet this is part of the weirdness of the summer. There’s sympathy with players and staff at Hillsborough it seems, with many even saying they’d understand if people want out. Yet the minute someone goes, or tries to go, the criticism begins.
It’s not the players’ fault, not the manager’s fault, nor the coaches or the staff, for the mess Wednesday are in. We’re all waiting to see if wages will be paid for July in the coming days. That’s no way to live, not knowing month-to-month whether you’ll be paid. Meanwhile there’s been no warm-weather camp, no public pre-season friendlies, a stadium that might not have use of the North Stand next season and there’s a three-transfer window ban on fees.
Nobody wants to leave Wednesday because of the club or the fans. It’s because the club, in its current state, is a shambles – with no clarity on when that’s going to change.
