With the league on pause, Wednesday have something they've rarely had over the last couple of years: time. For once, a new manager walking through the door feels less like firefighting and more like the start of a new chapter.
Dave Challinor was formally unveiled on Monday, a day after watching from the stands as ten men held Blackpool to a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough. Davis Keillor-Dunn's strike put us ahead, Sil Swinkels' red card changed the game, and Jerry Yates found the equaliser with nine minutes left. Challinor inherits a side sitting ninth in League One, with 20 points from 13 games and two points off the play-offs. It isn't a crisis, but it isn't good enough either, and that's why Henrik Pedersen is no longer here.
A record that earns a shot
Personally, I'm excited. Challinor has seven promotions on his CV. At Stockport he took a National League club up through League Two and into a League One play-off final last May, where they lost to Bolton. He spent five years building that side, and he arrives at Hillsborough with Simon Wilson, the sporting director he worked alongside throughout that rise.
He's not a glamorous appointment and he's never managed above League One. Some people think that makes him the wrong man. Their argument is that Hillsborough is a different beast to Edgeley Park. When Wednesday are in League One, they're expected to win nearly every week. Darren Moore got 96 points at this level and still had people questioning him after every bad result. Those are fair concerns, but the only way to answer them is to give him the job and let him get on with it. He has delivered at every level so far, and he deserves the chance to show he can do it one rung higher. Wednesday are giving him that chance.
Test and learn
The timing works in his favour. His first two games are cup ties, and the one after that is likely to be postponed because of international call-ups. That means the derby at Barnsley on 20 November could be his first league game in charge. He gets a proper window to work with the squad, and with players returning from injury and suspension he should be able to put a genuinely competitive starting XI together by then.
First up is Oldham away in the FA Cup on Sunday (5.15pm, live on TNT Sports), with the 2,323 away tickets already sold out. I'd treat the cup games as an opportunity to test things out. If we go out of both competitions, it won't be the end of the world. Getting back into the top six is the priority, and anything that helps him find his best XI before Barnsley is time well spent.
Plenty to work on
The back line is the obvious starting point. Cooper and Bernard were both missing on Sunday, so Swinkels, Weaver and Liam Palmer started at the back, with Otegbayo on the bench. Swinkels now faces a three-game ban, though the club has hinted it could appeal on the grounds that Bloxham was heading away from goal. When everyone is fit there's no shortage of options, but we still don't have a settled three. Challinor has generally favoured a 3-4-2-1, although his Stockport side switched between three and four at the back last season. That flexibility could help, especially once Reece James returns in four to six weeks to compete with Max Lowe on the left.
Then there's the question of where Barry Bannan and Palmer fit in. Both have been huge figures at this club, but neither is guaranteed a role under a new manager. Palmer's versatility helps him, and Sunday showed he can fill in at centre-half. Bannan has had a tricky start to the season. Billy Mitchell's knock is only expected to be short-term, and with Slattery, Heskey and Thornton also pushing for minutes, midfield is one of the most competitive areas of the squad. How Challinor handles those two over the next few weeks will tell us a lot about him.
Up front, Jamal Lowe has served his three-game ban and is available again for Oldham, which gives Challinor a proper selection call. Keillor-Dunn, Slattery and Burstow linked up well without him on Sunday. With Ali Al-Hamadi facing a longer spell out, though, centre-forward is still a question mark for this squad.
The most intriguing subplot is Louie Barry. He had three loan spells under Challinor at Stockport and scored 29 goals in 56 appearances. He was just finding his feet here, scoring twice against Bromley, when the ankle injury at Wycombe ruled him out, and the team has missed him more than it probably should have. If Challinor can get him back to that form, it's close to a new signing.
January is the other big unknown. The EFL fee restriction carried over from the old regime is still in place through the winter window, so expect free agents and loans rather than big-money signings, unless the new owners can get it lifted early. Even so, a manager who knows exactly what he wants, working with a sporting director who knows exactly how he works, should make the most of whatever room they have.
Off the pitch, too
The rebuild isn't confined to the dugout. The club has spent five months upgrading Hillsborough, including new catering (Béres sausage rolls are now on sale around the ground), improved water systems and a new press room and media suite. Full stadium Wi-Fi is targeted by the end of the year. Small things, maybe, but it all adds up to a club that's trying to raise standards everywhere.
There's a lot to work on, but for the first time in a while the next few weeks feel like an opportunity rather than a worry.
Sources: Yorkshire Post, BBC Sport, The Star, The72,