Pedersen still finding the right formulapublished at 15:54 BST 21 September
Saturday's Praise or Grumble perfectly summed up the mindset of Sheffield Wednesday's fans at the moment.
An angry call, deriding a drab performance against Stockport. Then an even more passionate response from another supporter, calling for perspective.
There'll be a season of this and there's merit to both arguments.
It was poor on Saturday. Stockport comfortably controlled the first half, should've scored and if they were more ruthless they probably would've been ahead at the break.
Wednesday were simply too slow and the frustrated boos in response were understandable.
The second half was more of a tactical battle with little between the teams.
The use of Davis Keillor-Dunn as a right-sided player is an ill-fit.
He's a goalscorer, someone you want in the box. His record for Barnsley and Mansfield shows where his strengths are. He's never going to be a winger, even one encouraged to cut in and play narrow.
Jamal Lowe has been filling in admirably in a wider role but whilst he's comfortable there – he's not a winger.
It was crying out for Harry Gray – who gave Wednesday a major shot in the arm when he came on – and Kieran Morrison – to provide width.
Even then, the midfield didn't really mesh with the attacking system. Callum Slattery has flashed at times but sometimes seems caught between two stools. Barry Bannan and Billy Mitchell in the middle hasn't quite clicked.
It sometimes leaves the striker a bit isolated, even anonymous, and Wednesday struggled to create anything on Saturday.
They were out-shot 6-18 and they've gone scoreless in three of their four home league games (the other, of course, was the 7-2 spanking of Bromley).
Henrik Pedersen is often good at describing, as he did post-match, what the issues were. But that often begs the question from fans – where were the solutions?
His comment that their opponents had a wrinkle similar to Paris Saint Germain also invited derision, given they were, after all, playing Stockport County.
Image source, ShutterstockYet the counter to this is also fair.
Wednesday are still in the early stages of a rebuild the size of the Grand Canyon. The squad is so reliant on loans that one has to miss out on the matchday squad every week.
Despite injuries at the back, only league leaders Bradford have conceded fewer goals. Despite playing at a level below what is possible so far, they are still second in the table. That's a great platform to build on.
When Louie Barry returns, he'll inject goals, width and excitement. They have players in their squad that most League One teams would love to have.
Howard Wilkinson, footballing royalty in Yorkshire, was invited onto the pitch and awarded a lifetime presidency alongside Lord Blunkett and Clive Betts MP. It was a reminder that Sheffield Wednesday has finally got its soul back.
Acknowledging the good that has happened, and the enormous amount of work still required on and off the pitch, is only right. It has to be part of the conversation.
Yet it's also just a fact of life that when 32,290 are packed into Hillsborough, they expect to see a bit more. The doubts about Pedersen, rightly or wrongly, will go on until he's either celebrating a promotion or leaving the club.
He has to find the right formula and that could mean making some difficult decisions.
Should he look at Keillor-Dunn as a number ten rather than out wide? Does he need to consider not using Bannan for every game these days? Is it time to put more trust in young talents like Gray and Morrison – simply because they are the best wide options he has?
