'New Sheff Wed story has great opening chapter'published at 18:45 BST 7 September
Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesSheffield Wednesday are top of League One after four wins from their opening five matches
It'd be easy to look at the League One table, see Sheffield Wednesday at the top, and figure it's not that unexpected.
After all, they're a recently relegated Championship team, and, as one of the bigger clubs in the division, it probably won't raise much of an eyebrow to outside observers.
That would be an error.
The best example as to why would be Leicester. On paper they still have a deep squad. They were among the favourites themselves to go straight back up. Yet they've just been spanked 4-0 by Oxford on their own patch. They're 17th. The turmoil on and off the pitch, clearly, has not subsided at the King Power.
Let's not forget how much work the Owls had to do themselves in order to even be a functioning team at this point.
They've signed 18 senior players in the summer window. That wasn't a spend-a-thon - it was necessary simply to have an actual squad to start the season with.
The Dejphon Chansiri-inspired misery brought on the club last year, that saw staff not paid on time, the squad decimated, administration, points deductions and no chance to compete, turned Wednesday into a husk.
Even with all of their new signings, you still look at the squad and see areas where it's thin. An injury to young defender Sil Swinkels, the absence of the experienced Ricardo Santos and the need to manage Liam Cooper's minutes are making things tricky at the back.
They also don't have much in the way of depth in central midfield - although the return of Jaden Heskey on loan from Manchester City has helped.
The financial restrictions placed on the club by the EFL limit what they can do. They've had to rely on loans - meaning they now have six in their squad but can only use five of those on a given match day.
Sporting director Simon Wilson and those working with him deserve a lot of credit because there's clearly been plenty of challenges as they begin to rebuild this club.
On the pitch, it's not that everything has fallen into place just yet. Though they have won 2-1 in their three away games at Leyton Orient, Wycombe and Peterborough, respectively, there are still areas for improvement.
However, that perfectly highlights the good job being done. If Wednesday had blitzed their first five games, looking like a well-oiled machine similar to Birmingham City at this level two years ago, in a way it'd be less impressive. That they're finding a way to get the job done as they attempt to grow into the season speaks to the work of Henrik Pedersen, his staff and his players.
There's no hiding from the fact that to many supporters the jury was out on Pedersen before the campaign began. A tricky start would've ramped up the pressure. It can't have been easy for the boss. He deserves credit for delivering a winning start.
His team are also third in the xG table and, thanks to their 7-2 demolition of Bromley, are joint top scorers in League One with Huddersfield.
It's only five games, and nobody should be getting carried away. As this story of a new era at Hillsborough reveals itself, though, this is a great opening chapter. It'll be putting smiles on many fans' faces after the year from hell last season.
