“Even beats Tony Pulis” - 44-year-old labelled worst Sheffield Wednesday manager | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit Patrick named Xisco Munoz as the worst manager the club has had.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Xisco Munoz has been named as Sheffield Wednesday’s worst-ever manager after his disastrous spell at Hillsborough in 2023.

After a chaotic period, the Owls appear to be in a good position now under Danny Rohl, who has brought belief and unity back to the Yorkshire club.

And, the work the German has done is all the more impressive when you consider the environment he walked into in October last year.

Rohl took over a Wednesday side that were rooted to the bottom of the Championship, with relegation to League One looking an inevitability, even at that early stage of the campaign.

He succeeded Munoz, who had failed to win any of his first ten games in charge, with the side picking up just two points in the process.

On paper, the Spaniard looked an understandable, if uninspiring, appointment. Under his guidance, Watford had won promotion a few years before, although the talent in the Hornets squad meant that the manager didn’t get the credit you would normally expect.

Xisco Munoz named as worst Sheffield Wednesday manager ever

Nevertheless, whilst Munoz had some happy memories from his time at Vicarage Road, his short stint at Wednesday was utterly forgettable for all parties.

Therefore, it’s perhaps no surprise that fan pundit Patrick named Munoz when asked by FLW for the worst manager he has seen at the club, and why things went so wrong for that boss.

He said: “You could choose from a long list of bad managers, and there is a contender that even beats Tony Pulis - and that is, of course, Xisco Munoz.

“Right from the start, it was obvious that he wasn’t the right fit for us, it just wasn’t going to work. The vibes in pre-season weren’t good, and from the very first game of the season, it was quite baffling.

“His first game was against Southampton at home, and we barely touched the ball. We just sat back. It was an incoherent game of football and one thing that was noticeable during his tenure was that there was just confusion on the pitch. The players didn’t seem to know what to do or have any faith in the manager. It didn’t seem as though he had trained them properly.

“I saw some very bizarre things under Munoz, such as at home to Preston. Barry Bannan was the furthest player forward, getting long, high balls launched up to him. I saw 35-year-old Lee Gregory played on the wing at home to Ipswich Town. It just seemed that he gave up incredibly early as well.

“He didn’t connect with the players, and there was the ridiculous decision to banish Marvin Johnson from the squad, who has come back and shown what a pivotal player he is for Sheffield Wednesday.”

Perhaps the most damning factor for Munoz was that he failed to register a victory in the league during his time in charge, with Patrick highlighting just how bad those numbers are.

He said: “Stats wise, a 0% win record is incomprehensibly bad. There is a danger that people read too much into win ratios, but what can you say about 0%?

“Part of the miracle that Danny Rohl did last season was picking this squad up. It wasn’t just the lack of points, this squad was drained, there was absolutely no confidence. All season under Munoz they had been poorly managed, no encouragement, just game-to-game, bizarre tactics, and it was some of the worst football you will ever see.

“He will go down as the worst manager in Sheffield Wednesday history, and I don’t see how anybody will top his reign. A complete fraud and charlatan of a manager. Thank God we’ve got Rohl in, who managed to save us from the train wreck that our worst manager Munoz left us.”

Sheffield Wednesday are on the right track under Danny Rohl

Owner Dejphon Chansiri rightly came in for severe criticism during this period, and there’s no denying that Munoz was the wrong appointment.

But, pleasingly for all connected to Wednesday, he got the next one right, and this does offer a reminder of just how well Rohl has done.

As outlined above, he inherited a team in a mess, and to secure safety from that position was a remarkable achievement, with Wednesday making steady progress this season as well.

So, fans will be hoping for a long, successful era under Rohl, who has proven to be a much better fit than Munoz.