Forty-eight hours is not long to change anything at a football club, but it is long enough to change the mood. Henrik Pedersen's time at Hillsborough ended on Sunday afternoon. Wednesday are eighth in League One after 11 matches, two points off the play-off places. That's not a crisis by any measure. What finished Pedersen was how the side looked in the last week: a 2-0 defeat at Notts County, then two goals conceded inside the first 17 minutes at Doncaster in the South Yorkshire derby, with our own supporters calling for him to go.
The club's statement was fair to him, and so should we be. He took charge through the worst season in the club's modern history and helped keep the place together when there was very little to hold onto. But Simon Wilson's words tell you where the board landed. They expected the side to develop as the season went on, with a recognisable style of play and more consistency, and admitted that while the points had come, the progress hadn't. Hard to argue with that after Meadow Lane and the Eco-Power.
Enter Hamshaw
Into the gap steps Matt Hamshaw, and there's something fitting about it. He made 88 appearances for Wednesday as a player and came back to Hillsborough in August to replace Craig Mudd, who had left for Manchester City. He knows the building, he knows this squad after two months on the training pitch, and he has done the job before. At Rotherham he won 16 and drew 12 of his 53 games in charge, a spell that ended after a 5-0 defeat at Peterborough left them six points from safety with nine games to play.
Nobody should expect a revolution by Tuesday. What Hamshaw can do is simplify, lift the dressing room and get a reaction out of a group that looked flat in both defeats. Interim managers rarely get credit for tactics; they get credit for energy. Hillsborough will give him plenty of that if the players show something early.
Team news
The bad news first: Jamal Lowe serves the second game of his three-match ban after the straight red at Notts County, so the top scorer is still missing. The good news is that Callum Slattery has served his suspension and is available again, while Mason Burstow is pushing to come back into the starting XI.
The treatment room remains busy. Louie Barry, Joe Lumley, Tyler Onyango, Di'Shon Bernard, Ricardo Santos and Cole McGhee were all listed as out before Doncaster, and Bernard's knee injury at Meadow Lane hit a back line already short of bodies. There was one positive on Saturday: Sil Swinkels was back in the matchday squad for the first time since his hamstring injury. Whether Hamshaw sticks with Ali Al-Hamadi up front or hands Burstow the shirt will be one of the first calls that tells us something about him.
The opposition
Cambridge arrive as one of the stories of the season. Most expected Neil Harris's newly promoted side to spend the year looking over their shoulders. Instead, they sit sixth on 20 points from 12 games, two points ahead of Wednesday with a game more played. A home win would take us above them.
Harris built last season's promotion on defence. Cambridge conceded just 33 goals in 46 games last term, but this season the picture has shifted. They have scored in every game and kept only one clean sheet, with the back line still adjusting after losing key figures over the summer. Vice-captain Kelland Watts has played every league minute and carries a lot of responsibility at the back. The recent wobble is real too: they lost 3-2 at home to Plymouth on Saturday, are winless in two and have conceded five in that time.
Further forward, Ben Knight is the one to watch. The former Manchester City youngster has been at the centre of their best work and leads their league scoring. Shayne Lavery and Owen Moxon are both expected to return as well, which strengthens them.
One trait deserves respect. Harris's side have made a habit of finishing strongly and turning games after the break. A Wednesday side that has struggled to keep clean sheets cannot afford to sit on a lead.
Harris knows what's coming. He has spoken about wanting a reaction and the right mentality against a team that is hurting, and expects more than 1,000 travelling fans. The rearranged game falls in half-term, and Wednesday have cut prices for youngsters, with under-14s able to sit anywhere in the ground for £1.
History
The recent record is very good to Wednesday. The last two Hillsborough meetings ended 6-0 in March 2022 and 5-0 in January 2023, and we've won the last three against Cambridge. But they do have a famous result here. In September 1998, Premier League Wednesday lost 1-0 at home to them in the League Cup, drew the second leg 1-1 and went out 2-1 on aggregate, with Trevor Benjamin scoring at Hillsborough.
Prediction
This feels like the right game at the right time for a fresh start. Cambridge are good, well organised and dangerous after half-time, but they are also leaking goals. Wednesday at Hillsborough, with a crowd behind a new man, should have enough to get on top early. Expect the Owls to score first, then hold on through a nervy second half when Cambridge come on strong.
Prediction: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Cambridge United.
Kick-off is 7:45pm on Tuesday 27 October.
Sources: Sheffield Wednesday FC, The Star, Cambridge Independent, Yorkshire Post.
Image Source: Sheffield Star