Manager and Player of the Month Awards – April 2024

At crunch time, who were the difference-makers in each division?

Ali Maxwell, George Elek, Huw Davies, Matt Watts, Sam Parry

April showers came. April showers went. Teams went up. Teams went down. But in these awards, we are not looking for season-long success stories. Yes, football is about endings – that’s why we have leagues – and yet, within the deep pockets of the fourth month, we found a shimmer of loose change that need not be cashed in for a campaign-ending flourish.

Although, for some, there is some cashing-in to do yet, because seven of our nine awards are for protagonists still with skin in the game. It stands to reason, because in April, those with the highest stakes played under the greatest pressure and delivered.

Danny Röhl — Sheffield Wednesday

On 1st April 2024, Sheffield Wednesday lost 2-0 to Middlesbrough in a defeat that appeared consequential – perhaps because it was. The Owls hadn’t reared their head from under the dotted line since August, and this latest loss made the upcoming games against relegation fighters (QPR, Stoke, Blackburn) and play-off pushers (Norwich and West Bromwich Albion) all the more pivotal.

Speaking after the Boro game, Danny Röhl said, “There was not one guy on a good level today.” What happened next proved that wouldn’t last. He was the one guy to raise the levels and the Hillsborough roof, as Wednesday adapted to survive.

Wednesday in April have been an object of managerial agility. Röhl’s flexible approach to tactics and personnel has conjured 11 points from 5 games and 11 goals from 5 games, writ large in the form guide:

• vs QPR 2-0

• vs Norwich 2-2

• vs Stoke 1-1

• vs Blackburn 3-1

• vs West Brom 3-0

The tweaking began after the Boro defeat. Röhl returned Michael Smith to the starting XI for the next three games, adding physical presence and aerial dominance. After helping his team to beat QPR in a must-win clash, Smith scored a critical equaliser against Norwich (2-2). He became the focal point up top… and then Röhl benched him.

This was no dice-röll. The return of Josh Windass from injury had already brought more oomph to the Wednesday sails, and his manager moved him into a more advanced position against Blackburn to stretch a shaky Rovers defence. Cue a 30-yard lob in the opening six minutes. That’s the money shot.

In isolation, a goal such as this can be put down to a mixture of fortune and skill. But its likelihood was increased by the rotating attacking options, picked, on the one hand, to unpick the holes in different defences, and on the other, to provide pressing legs when needed. Smith one week. Ugbo the next. Smith and Ubgo as a two. Then Ugbo and Windass. All sat in front of the sturdy central midfield pairing of a purring Barry Bannan and an all-action Will Vaulks.

This has not been a fortuitous revival but part and parcel of a consistent pattern. Wednesday under Röhl simply aren’t a bottom-three team. That Boro match aside, Wednesday have won the xG battle in every game in April and have done so while sweating under the spotlight of relegation pressure. As it stands, a point on final day will be enough to secure their Championship status for 2024/25.

It’s been some month. The high-stakes win over QPR. The two-goal turnaround against Norwich. The thumping of Albion. The return of Josh Windass. Neymar-vin Johnson flying up and down the left. The glittering flashes of Messrs Musaba, Gassama and Cadamarteri. All pulled into shape and parsed into patterns by a manager who has promised much throughout the season and delivered when it mattered most.