"Legend" - Sheffield Wednesday star who is an "absolute cut above" hailed | OneFootball

Football League World's Sheffield Wednesday fan pundit claims Barry Bannan is a club legend

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…

Sheffield Wednesday are currently embarking on a quest to enjoy a more comfortable season than that of last term, in which they avoided relegation back to League One by just three points.

After just over a third of the season, some of the Owls' results have indicated that they are capable of doing just that, as they defeated play-off hopefuls West Bromwich Albion 3-2 back in September, and hammered Plymouth Argyle 4-0 on the opening day of the campaign.

However, other scorelines, such as a 6-2 home defeat to Watford earlier this month show that Danny Rohl and co have not quite managed to shake off all of last season's bad habits.

Wednesday fan pundit makes big Barry Bannan admission

Amid the Owls' aspirations to solidify their Championship status, Football League World asked our Wednesday fan pundit, Patrick McKenna, who the club's best player is right now, and how he would sum him up in one word.

Patrick said: "Who is our club's best player right now?

"The answer to that is Barry Bannan, and if I had to sum him up in one word, that would be legend.

"The reason is, in his ten years here, he has been an absolute leader for us on the pitch, has drove us forward so many times, has picked us up as well.

"He's just an touch of class as well.

"He's been an absolute cut above for years, and his movement, his passing and his intelligence are there to see, and of course he's scored some brilliant goals for us as well.

"But he has been there for us, he has just given so much for the club, and he's just a real ambassador for us as well.

"Yep, Barry Bannan, legend."

Bannan legend claim is spot on

The word legend is arguably overused in this day and age, especially within the context of football, but it is a very apt word to describe Bannan's contributions to the Owls over the years.

After first joining Wednesday back in the summer of 2015, the Scotland international has made well over 400 appearances for the South Yorkshire outfit.

During his first season at Hillsborough, Bannan established himself as a key player, and made 38 Championship outings, while notching two goals and two assists, which helped his side to a second tier play-off spot.

The Owls reached the top-six once more following a successful 2016/17 Championship campaign, and the midfield ace was even more pivotal that time around, as he produced a return of one goal and eight assists in 45 appearances.

Difficult times would lie ahead for Bannan and his club though, as they failed to reach the top-six again before being relegated from the second tier following a woeful 2020/21 campaign.

But during Wednesday's time of need, it was the Scot who showed his class as he scored nine goals and made 12 assists as the Owls landed a 2021/22 play-off spot.

The South Yorkshire side lost out in the semi-final stages to Sunderland, but went on to claim glory the following year as they defeated local rivals Barnsley in the 2022/23 play-off final.

Bannan was once again the talisman for his club, as his impressive return of seven goals and 13 assists had fired his side to third place, while one goal and two assists last term helped the Owls' great escape effort.

Now aged 34, he continues to play a key role for Wednesday, who have been able to depend on his services for just shy of a decade now.