It's not so much the defeat that is so hard to take, more so the manner of the defeat. For 45 minutes Sheffield Wednesday gave a good account of themselves and were good value for the 1-1 half-time score.
The second half however was reminiscent of the early season capitulation at Charlton last season, not just for the way in which the defence failed to get to grips with Chris Iwelumo but for the way in which the majority of the team simply didn't perform.
Things could have been different had Deon Burton taken advantage of a great opportunity towards the end of the first half when a long-ball put him in a great position in front of goal but he fluffed his volley straight at the keeper. When he works hard he is able to bring others into the game but his finishing is often less than clinical. He may have been the clubs' top scorer over the past two seasons but he has taken his fair share of penalties and his tallies are not that high in comparison with other clubs top scorers in the Championship, even in the lower half of the table.
Jermaine Johnson will take much of the blame the second goal and rightly so, having lost the ball in a dangerous position from an Owls attack, allowing Wolves to break and get the penalty but many more need to take a look at their performance.
Playing 4-5-1 in the first half, Wednesday looked a threat on the break but with Esajas not returning in the 2nd half due to an injury concern Clarke came on and the shape changed, following this the Owls hardly got a look in.
Why was there a need to change the shape? Boden and Smith both came on later in the game but either could have replaced Esajas and played out wide to keep the 4-5-1 shape that had worked. Although it may not be their strongest position both have featured in wide positions already this season and it is inconceivable that either would have offered any less than the totally ineffective Clarke.
The lack of depth in the squad now looks set to become an even greater issue as Esajas may be struggling and Richard Hinds faces a long lay off as well.
Fans are often able to take defeat on the chin if the team has given its all but the minimum that should be expected is a show of effort and commitment to the cause, sadly this was definitely lacking in the Owls performance and they will need to pull their socks up for the visit of in-form Preston to Hillsborough next weekend.