This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.
Financial problems just can’t escape Sheffield Wednesday, but don’t panic, its not the Owls with the issues this time around.
Although, another club’s turmoil will soon have a knock-on effect to one member of Garry Monk’s squad.
Young midfielder Connor Kirby is currently out on loan to Macclesfield Town, where he has been getting regular game time under Daryl McMahon.
Watch Sheffield Wednesday Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
The 21-year-old has played a total of 16 matches in all competitions with the Silkmen sitting midtable in League Two, but their FA Cup fixture with seventh-tier Kingstonian only highlighted the problems the club are currently facing.
The Chesire-based club were thrashed 4-0 at home to a team three divisions below as several of their first-team players went on strike over unpaid wages.
Kirby is likely to still be paid in full by Wednesday, so that’s why he featured in the defeat, where he was even handed the captain’s armband in the absence of Fiacre Kelleher, amongst others.
This is a worrying series of events as even though the promising midfielder is gaining valuable time on the pitch, it’s not with players that give him a reasonable chance to compete and improve substantially.
Against Kingstonian, it was effectively the youth team, and whoever else was at the club on loan, which means it seems no different from playing U23 football.
If this issue continues to rumble on, then it will only hurt Kirby’s development going forward.
It’s certainly been a whirlwind few months compared to what the Wednesday man originally signed up to – a chance to play under Arsenal great Sol Campbell in a side still buoyed by their great escape from relegation last term.
Instead, he is having to captain a team, that’s not actually his, full of academy hopefuls.
Maybe it would be wise to recall him at the earliest opportunity, and either use him in the first-team squad if any more injuries crop up, or send him to a club that isn’t facing such detrimental turmoil.
