It is highly unlikely a statement including the phrase “impacted on the club’s immediate cashflow” can result in anything positive. Sheffield Wednesday announced their latest financial issues on Monday after failing to pay their players on time at the end of March, putting the Championship side under a dark cloud.
This is the latest cause for concern among Owls supporters who have become increasingly frustrated by the ownership of Dejphon Chansiri, and the longer the players are not remunerated the greater the risk of punishment. An English Football League charge could come next week if the players remain unpaid. A fine, transfer ban or points deduction would then be among the options open to the league, which is in dialogue with Wednesday, if the matter is not resolved quickly, which the club is confident it will be.
There has previously been the late payment of tax bills, a six-point deduction in 2020 for breaching the EFL’s profitability and sustainability rules and a threat last August to ban anyone who attended Hillsborough in a fake shirt. In 2023 Chansiri said he would stop funding the club after criticism from the fans. It is rarely dull.
This week’s issue, Wednesday said, arose because there are “significant sums of money owed to the chairman’s businesses”. Chansiri, to his credit, has put in about £3.5m a month in recent years to keep things ticking over. Fans are asking whether he has the means to continue funding the club after overseeing a total loss of £151.4m since taking ownership in 2015. They want clarity before Saturday’s game against Hull at Hillsborough. Borrowing stands at £68m according to the latest accounts.
Wednesday have a very different approach to other clubs, organising season-ticket renewals at about Christmas time. This meant the club received a lump sum at the start of the year and makes it more puzzling as to why there is not enough money to fund monthly salaries. The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust released two statements this week criticising the way the club is being run.
“We’ve asked the club to please come forward with a plan; a documented plan of action in regards to how we move forward and stop this happening again, with details of how he’s going to fund it, how he’s going to do it, if that’s what he’s going to do – if he has a plan,” says the trust’s chairman, Ian Bennett. “If he doesn’t or can’t carry on funding the club in the way that’s needed … the window of opportunity to sell is now.”
The past decade has brought a mixed approach from Chansiri, starting with heavy spending on the squad. They made it to the Championship playoff final at the end of his first full season but lost to Hull. The following year the Thai businessman broke the club’s transfer record to sign Jordan Rhodes in an attempt to reach the top flight but Wednesday have been unable to make the leap. Instead, after relegation in 2021, they spent two seasons in League One as budgets tightened. Wednesday appeared to be heading for relegation to the third tier again last season with the Championship’s cheapest squad until the inspired appointment of Danny Röhl in October 2023.
“It’s a shame, really,” says Bennett, reflecting on the Chansiri era. “If he’d have been successful he’d have been seen as the messiah, and now he’s seen as a pariah; that’s the bottom line. I think for the fanbase, this is the straw that broke the camel’s back, and I think the fanbase has finally realised that he’s not a good owner. He might be a decent fella, he might have got all good intentions, but the way the club’s run is not right.”
Amid the turmoil the team look settled, sitting 12th, five points off the playoffs. A key reason is Röhl, a novice when he arrived. Under Chansiri there have been nine permanent managers but Röhl has brought stability. He had no playing career to speak of and his previous coaching experience was on the staff at RB Leipzig, Southampton, Bayern Munich and Germany but he quickly turned performances around.
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Röhl is popular with the supporters but is likely to depart in the summer for calmer waters, with Southampton the anticipated destination. “I don’t think there would be any ill will towards him if he leaves,” says Bennett. “I think it’s expected. He saved us last season, he’s got us into a position with basically no money, no investment. And a team of, and not being disrespectful to them, but mainly League One players, he’s got them operating at a high level in the Championship.”
The club is regarded as ripe for investment in football finance circles and there is a constant flow of interest in big Championship clubs as buyers seek a route to the Premier League. They are an attractive option on paper considering the size of the fanbase and stadium but agreement would be needed on money owed and there are issues regarding Hillsborough. The club’s home since 1899 is costly to maintain but building a new stadium would add a huge cost for any buyer. Moreover, the stadium is not owned by the club but by Sheffield 3 Limited, which is controlled by Chansiri.
It is understood that whereas Chansiri has received expressions of interest in the past and talks have never progressed because there has been no desire to sell on his part, his stance has softened and he would listen to bids. As supporters become increasingly worried about the future, the club faces a crucial period. Stability is needed off the pitch, with Chansiri or in a new era.
Source: theguardian.com
