Sheffield Wednesday: Marvin Johnson has already shown he can cut through the noise to prove the doubters wrong

There have been questions posed and columns written, the chatter of sections of the Sheffield Wednesday fan base critical. There are eyes honed in on what happens next for Johnson, who would admit himself, you’d think, that he’s been under par in the early stages of this long and winding season.

Unfair, perhaps, to even write this article and single a Wednesday player out after a most recent performance Darren Moore himself said was down to the entire side, recoiling at a question about Johnson’s form so as not to appear to draw attention to a man receiving flak.

But the point to be made here is that the former Middlesbrough wide man has indeed been here before and, crucially, he scrapped and kicked and battled his way out of it.

There’s no dancing around it, the man they call Neymarv has been short of the sort of form that saw him become one of the first names on Moore’s team sheet in that long and impressive run after Christmas last season. As things stand, he looks a man short on confidence.

Much has been made of the fact the majority of goals Wednesday have conceded have come down the wing he marshals and few would argue there have been occasions he could have offered more resistance to the crosses sent in.

It’s something that appears to have bled into an attacking game that produced two goals and six assists in the final months of the last campaign.

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His crossing accuracy? 21.1% down from 38.2% last season. He’s attempted only 1.88 dribbles per match, a figure down more than 50% from 3.99. Tactical? Perhaps. It’s been a shame not to see him terrify defences with the sort of excitement Wednesday fans have seen previously.

But it’s the low points of that impressive last campaign that should provide Johnson with the confidence to overcome this oh-so-early sticky patch.

The early stages of last season too saw Johnson singled out by some after a reasonably sluggish start to life at S6. Within a few weeks via a stint in a foreign position, they were singing his name to the beat of Shakira.

Whether Reece James takes his place or not this weekend, only a fool would bet against a repeat trick.

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