A Q&A with Sheffield Wednesday writer, Joe Crann, from Spain - courtesy of Gameplan Financial.
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00:00 Good afternoon everybody, Joe Cran from the Sheffield Star here.
00:05 I'm here in Spain, I'm here with Sheffield Wednesday for their pre-season tour.
00:09 I say tour, they're staying in the same place for a few days and doing a lot of work in
00:16 very, very hot temperatures.
00:17 I'm here thanks to Gameplan Financially, who got on board as a sponsor for this trip, so
00:22 thank you very much for them.
00:23 I'm going to do a little bit of Q&A today, I had some internet issues earlier on because
00:27 it's just too hot and my phone decided, nope, I'm not able to perform those capabilities
00:33 because the weather is so hot.
00:35 You probably see a little bit of a bead of sweat or two on me, I had to have the air
00:38 con on, but like you say, I've spoken to a few locals and they've basically said this
00:43 is the hottest that they've seen in years.
00:45 But yeah, so just like I say, I just wanted to answer a few of the questions and answers,
00:50 sorry, answer some of the questions that have been sent in, got a lot sent in through Twitter.
00:56 A lot of it is recruitment based, as I'm sure everybody else is wanting to know as well.
01:01 But yeah, so just one of the first questions from Tim, he was asking are there any more
01:05 trialists at the club from Spain or from Portugal?
01:09 No, we haven't spoken to them today, I haven't seen them today.
01:13 They had a day off, so they haven't been training, they just did a little bit of gym work this
01:16 morning.
01:17 But as of the rest of the week, up until now, there has been no trialists.
01:22 As much as some people like to think that Luke Jackson is somebody else, that is Luke
01:25 Jackson.
01:26 There is no goalkeeper on trial, it's just Piers Shaw, Luke Jackson and obviously, of
01:30 course, Cam Dawson as well.
01:31 But yeah, that's the first question.
01:32 I have got a question here from Mikey asking about how comfy was the floor outside the hotel?
01:39 Won't be talking about that because it's a low point.
01:43 The hotel basically didn't give me the key that I needed to get in after a certain time.
01:47 So I spent a little bit of time on the floor outside the hotel.
01:50 Rating it out of 10, I'd probably give it a 2.
01:53 Wasn't the worst floor I've ever sat on, but certainly wasn't the best.
01:57 We've got Shea's triathlon, all the great work, everybody knows Shea.
02:01 Almost two weeks to the season, very low chance we'd be worried.
02:06 I think worry is understandable.
02:11 With nothing happening in the way that it is, it makes sense that people are a little
02:15 bit stressed.
02:16 I do think it's obviously cause for concern purely based on the lack of time that they'll
02:23 get to work together before the Southampton game.
02:27 The manager does seem relatively confident that they can get someone in, at least one
02:32 person in, in the next few days before they leave Spain.
02:35 He said that's the idea, that's what they want to do.
02:37 But yeah, whether they actually manage to do that or not is obviously, that remains
02:41 to be seen.
02:42 I think the closer that we get to the Southampton game, the more the worry will be.
02:46 It does feel like we're moving stages.
02:51 Before Chisco came in, it was a case of, well, we're waiting for the new manager.
02:55 Once we get that, we can move on to players.
02:57 Then he came in, it was like, well, we've at least got Spain, so if we can get him before
03:01 that, that'd be great.
03:03 This has come now, the next will be, if we can get him before Southampton, then it'll
03:07 be if we can get him before the window closes.
03:10 I completely understand why people are worried about that.
03:15 I think that worry and that anxiety, I suppose, over when is the squad size, will only be
03:22 ended when people start to come in.
03:24 So hopefully that can get done in the near future, I suppose.
03:30 Fingers crossed they can do something before Spain comes to an end, because even if a new
03:34 signing or two could get a couple of days out here, it would be a big boost.
03:39 We've got Joe saying, how many players are we looking to bring in and what positions
03:44 are in most need of improving?
03:46 It was his question.
03:47 I think it's difficult to say really, because we don't really know what Chisco thinks of
03:53 the players so far.
03:55 He's been very complimentary of everybody, basically.
03:59 He's spoken about how good the side is, how good the players are, even to the point where
04:03 he's spoken about the youngsters and what a good job they've done.
04:06 So I think it is pretty much, I had another question about whether he wants somebody for
04:12 every position.
04:13 I think that probably is the case.
04:15 Wednesday could fit seven, eight new players in and it still wouldn't be a massively inflated
04:21 squad.
04:22 So I do think he'll be looking at a fair few different positions.
04:25 I think Wingers is probably the most important, just because Wednesday don't have many of
04:29 them.
04:30 And with the formation he's playing with, the 4-1-4-1, Wingers are probably going to
04:35 be quite important this season.
04:38 Lewis is saying, we still played quite a few long balls early in the game.
04:41 I presume he's talking about the Real Mercy game last night.
04:44 Do you think that was a Zysko tactic or old habits coming back?
04:48 I think it's a case of mixing it up, to be honest, Lewis.
04:50 I think with the way that he wants to play, it's very, very on the floor related.
04:57 He doesn't seem to want too much in the air.
04:59 He's looking to break quickly, to play on the transition and that kind of thing.
05:03 But I think there will always be an element of going long when the mood strikes, I suppose,
05:09 because sometimes it can be successful.
05:12 We've got another question here saying, Ian's asking again about key positions.
05:22 I think Wingers for me is probably the big thing.
05:26 John's asking how costly do you think it will be not signing any players so far?
05:30 I think with that, it's speculation really.
05:33 We might sign some players now that are really great and they've been patient and they've
05:40 waited for the right people and it works out.
05:42 Or we could miss out on people and potentially end up picking up players that we've only
05:48 got because other people didn't want them or something like that.
05:51 We'll have to wait and see on that front.
05:53 We can't really judge that just yet.
05:56 I think it'd be the same thing I've said about the season, the expectations.
05:59 I don't think we can really judge the group, set aside expectations until we know what
06:09 we're going to be dealing with.
06:10 We've got Ian asking, does Chisco acknowledge we need pace and youth?
06:13 I think everybody knows that we need some pace and youth.
06:16 We've got one of the smallest squads in the league, if not the smallest, and probably
06:19 also one of the oldest average ages as well.
06:21 So yeah, I haven't asked him specifically about it because it just kind of feels like
06:26 an obvious one.
06:27 Someone's asking there about Sean Fosera, seems to be getting promising reviews.
06:33 Is he a right back or a winger?
06:34 He's a little bit of both, but he's mainly a right back.
06:36 That's his position that he's played throughout, well, there and centre mid actually.
06:40 He's played both in his youth career.
06:43 The right wing position is something that's relatively new to him, but Chisco says he
06:46 wants all the young players to sort of learn the trade in two or three different positions
06:49 because that's the best way that he can get them on the pitch if needed.
06:52 So if they're not just stuck to one position, then when the game's coming to an end, when
06:59 things are wrapping up, you can maybe chuck them on for 15 minutes, half an hour.
07:03 If there's an injury, they can step in.
07:06 So that's basically the thinking.
07:07 Someone's asking when will the dome be repaired, replaced?
07:11 I do think that is something in the works.
07:14 Obviously, that was down with Snowmageddon in Sheffield.
07:20 It's not been back up since.
07:21 I do think that they are working on that and something should happen soon.
07:28 Just will we sign a player from Jonathan?
07:31 Yes, we will.
07:32 I can't promise you when or who or how, but yeah, Wednesday we'll be signing players.
07:38 There's no doubt about that.
07:40 So we'll just have to wait and see.
07:44 We just have to wait and see when it is.
07:46 Got a question there, sort of answered it earlier when I was speaking to Chris, the
07:49 Wilkes situation and Pato.
07:52 Pato is a little bit tired.
07:53 Wilkes is just still recovering.
07:55 They don't want to take any chances with anybody.
07:58 So if there's a little inkling that a bit more work could tip them over the edge, they
08:04 won't be taking that chance.
08:06 Scott's asking about realistic aim for this season.
08:08 Again, I think that's the same thing as what I said before.
08:10 You know, you can't really judge aims.
08:13 For me, as things stand now, just staying up, that would be with the side as it is,
08:21 considering the lack of depth, the lack of backup.
08:25 If anything goes wrong, I mean, we will get injuries over the course of the season.
08:30 So yeah, we'll have to wait and see.
08:31 But yeah, in terms of right now, I think just staying up would be solid.
08:36 That would be a solid enough aim and anything above that would be a bonus.
08:41 Is asking if I'm excited for the season ahead with the new play style?
08:44 Yeah, I think obviously this is all reliant on new signings.
08:49 That is a very, very key part of this.
08:52 When the need new faces in the door, you speak to practically every player.
08:57 I said the same when we've spoken to him.
08:59 But I think another thing that the players have all said when we've been chatting is
09:03 how much they're enjoying life under the new manager, the sessions, the way that he deals
09:08 with them, the style of play that he's trying to put into place.
09:11 So yeah, in that sense, I am excited.
09:14 I think there's a lot to be said for the way that things are going about at the moment.
09:20 And I'm hoping that we can see that come into play quite quick.
09:25 Josh Windas was one of the ones saying that we're all going to need to be patient.
09:29 That's the fans, us in the media, the players, everybody at the club, basically.
09:35 They are going to have to be patient because I think his phrase was, "We're not going to
09:41 turn into Man City in the next five weeks."
09:43 But he does think we'll get there.
09:46 On that note, I'm going to let you guys go.
09:47 If you have got any other questions, drop them through to me on Twitter and I will try
09:50 and answer as and when I can.
09:52 We'll be hopefully back watching the players train tomorrow morning when they're back to
09:56 work.
09:57 But for now, I'll leave you to it.
09:59 Enjoy the rest of your week.
10:00 Cheers.
10:00 Cheers.
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