League One Big Guns' Sluggish Start

It's ten games into the new npower League One season, and usually the point where managers, and supporters, start weighing up their chances for the season ahead.

For Wednesday it's very much a case of 'must do better', although Saturday's 2-0 success at Notts County which marked the end of a winless five league games for the Owls will provide some positives for Wednesdayites.

But it's not just Wednesday who have been sluggish out of the blocks.

The Owls were one of the favourites for promotion this season, alongside Southampton and Huddersfield Town, two other sides who have endured tough starts to the campaign.

It's a sign that there will be no runaway leaders in the league this season, something which mirrors that of the Championship.

It makes it exciting for the neutral, but it'll make the next eight months a tough and sometimes frustrating time for fans of those clubs searching for promotion.

Wednesday's weekend victory at Meadow Lane moved them above the Terriers, who suffered a third defeat on the spin when they lost 1-0 at home against Bristol Rovers.

It also leaves Alan Irvine's men, tenth in the league table, two points above Southampton who, after a tough start and the sacking of boss Alan Pardew, seem to be finally finding their feet following the appointment of Nigel Adkins.

Meanwhile, teams such as Brighton, Peterborough United and Bournemouth lead the way at the top of the table, although all three have had their slip-ups of late.

It shows just how important some consistency is at this level, and that's exactly what Wednesday will need if they're to get their season firmly back on track.

The ten game mark is usually the point where the table starts to take shape, but given the results and the start by some clubs so far this term, it seems that could be anything but the case.

It could mean the next ten matches, and not the first ten of the season, could well be the most important of the season.

Wednesday host Leyton Orient at S6 on Saturday in a game which, in theory, could put the Owls up to third in the standings should other results go their way.

It's unlikely given the amount of sides above Wednesday, but it shows just how tight things are at the moment in the divisiion.

The so-called 'big guns' have endured a slow start to the campaign, but the next ten matches will be an important part of the season as the league table really does, we hope, start to take shape.

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