After a difficult time with the Owls, a former Sheffield Wednesday player is currently thriving for a competitor in the Championship.
Several new players were signed by Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, however several of them have since performed inconsistently for the team.
Notable people with successful careers include Djeidi Gassama, Anthony Musaba, Di’Shon Bernard, and most recently, Pol Valentin. However, players like Jeff Hendrick have had difficulty, while Juan Delgado has had injuries that have limited his playing time.
John Buckley was another player who fit into the latter group. He and Hendrick joined on loan from Blackburn Rovers on deadline day last summer, but he returned to Ewood Park at the beginning of this month.
The 24-year-old’s loan was terminated after he was sidelined by a shoulder injury and only made 13 Championship matches for Sheffield Wednesday.
John Buckley’s success following a “tough” Wednesday loan
After coming back to Blackburn Rovers, Buckley talked about his “tough” loan stint at Sheffield Wednesday.
Since then, he has appeared in three of Blackburn’s games, starting the last two. The most recent being Rovers’ FA Cup loss to Newcastle United, which ended in a 2-1 loss.
Starting in the middle of the pitch against players like Joe Willock, Bruno Guimaraes, and Sean Longstaff, Buckley made an immediate impression.
He received a 9 out of 10 from the Lancashire Telegraph that evening, and reporter Elliot Jackson added:
“Excellent throughout the entire evening. He controlled play while the ball was in play and was crucial to Rovers breaking out of defence. In addition, he was excellent off the ball.
Even in his dull tenure at Hillsborough, Buckley had signs of being a talented player at the Championship level.
But initially, Buckley just couldn’t get it under Xisco Munoz.
The Englishman wasn’t comfortable in the shape under Munoz or, possibly, under Danny Rohl either. He is best used as the primary midfielder, sitting in the middle and playing the anchor role, though Barry Bannan is the Owls’ apparent choice for that position.
Buckley simply felt that Sheffield Wednesday was the wrong club at the wrong moment.
He has, however, brought his class to everyone’s attention since returning to Lancashire, and Blackburn may be questioning why they ever allowed him to go out on loan in the first place.
Now that Blackburn is in the running for the Championship, he might be a major factor. The team is currently in 16th place, seven points clear of Sheffield Wednesday, who are still three points behind.
This weekend’s trip to Rotherham United is the Owls’ next scheduled game.
