This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Sheffield Wednesday managed to get their campaign back on track with a vital 1-0 win against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday in what was a huge game for Joe Wildsmith in particular.
The keeper was handed his first appearance for Sheffield Wednesday in League One this season by Darren Moore with Burnley loanee Bailey Peacock-Farrell away with Northern Ireland for their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
In Peacock-Farrell’s absence, Wildsmith managed to deliver a strong performance for the Owls with him making one really important save to deny Eoin Doyle in the second period.
Following the win against Bolton, Moore told Yorkshire Live that he has been impressed with Wildsmith’s performance and he indicated that he would see whether he could keep his place in the week once Peacock-Farrell returns.
So with Wildsmith impressing against Bolton, we asked some of our FLW writers whether they feel he should keep his place in the side ahead of Peacock-Farrell…
Chris Thorpe
In a word, no. For me Bailey Peacock-Farrell is up there as one of the best keepers that League One has to offer.
No disrespect to Wildsmith but I think his teammate is ahead of him in terms of ability.
One good performance doesn’t mean you should be ahead of someone but then again it’s hard to critique Wildsmith’s all round performance v Bolton as it was solid.
Wednesday are lucky to have two good keepers and it will be tough to keep them both happy.
But for me Peacock-Farrell still very much edges it.
Ned Holmes
It's a tough decision facing Darren Moore but I would think that Bailey Peacock-Farrell deserves another chance.
Joe Wildsmith was solid against Bolton but he didn't have a huge amount to do and was only forced into making one save, though it was an impressive one from short range.
Wildsmith was impressive against Mansfield Town as well in midweek but I think Peacock-Farrell deserves Moore's loyalty and another chance to prove himself.
It could just be that having someone snapping at his heels will help to elevate the Burnley loanee's game and for that reason, I think it could prove a smart move to give the Northern Ireland international another go.
If he doesn't grab that opportunity, then you turn back to Wildsmith and give him a run in the team.
Marcus Alley
Yes, Wildsmith performed well in difficult circumstances last season and should be rewarded for that with a run of games in League One.
Bailey Peacock-Farrell started the campaign in fine form but has been very mistake prone in the weeks going into the international and Wildsmith should allow Peacock-Farrell some time away from the team to work on some of his shortcomings.
Competition for places is crucial and if Wildsmith is dropped after the clean sheet and strong display against Bolton then his morale could take a considerable hit.
Darren Moore is clearly a big fan of Peacock-Farrell bringing him down to League One from Burnley but Wildsmith has earned a run in the side after his performance and the Northern Ireland international’s errors in recent weeks.