“He’s having a tantrum” Simon Jordan doubts Dejphon Chansiri’s Sheffield Wednesday ‘cash flow issue’

In an astonishing interview with The Star, Chansiri requested that Owls fans come forward with £2m to ‘save their club’ from the threat of a three-window transfer embargo, which he says would be enacted if they are unable to avoid the further non-payment of an outstanding HMRC debt for 30 days.

He warned that players and staff at the club could also go unpaid on their October payday (today, Tuesday October 31), which would serve to bring the date forward by a further day for each day both problems go unresolved. Asked by The Star whether Chansiri’s claims were part of a ‘game’ designed to show protesting supporters who was boss, the Thai businessman denied it.

Jordan ran Palace for 10 years between 2000 and 2010 and has since go on to be an outspoken pundit alongside Jim White on the national radio station. He doubts the validity of Chansiri’s cash flow claims.

“I think he’s making a point,” he said. “If you look at the family worth that he comes from, he comes from a family worth of three quarters of a billion. We’re talking about someone who has been willing to spend £150m or £160m on Sheffield Wednesday. We’re talking about somebody who is having a tantrum. He’s having a turn.

“He uses the words ‘trying his best’ very regularly. He used it after the play-off final and in conjunction with this article. I think he’s a bit tired of being told by football fans what he should be doing - but that is the price on the ticket.”

Asked directly if he believes Chansiri has cash flow problems, he said: “He might do, but I don’t think his cash flow problems amount to £2m. I don’t think £2m would be a determining factor for this man and whether he could afford to continue funding Sheffield Wednesday. If it was £20m, I might have a conversation about the subject matter to say ‘Oh dear, there might be some issue with this situation’.

“This is a club that landed in League One under his ownership after the amount of money that he spent. People that have spent that amount of money on a football club should have a different relationship to fans to the one that this man does. I think there are cultural differences in terms of his expectations of what people should and shouldn’t be able to say to him.”

Asked by The Star what the process would be to collect money for the shortfall, Chansiri was not able to offer a directive. Wednesday fans have taken to crowdfunding pages, with thousands of pounds already having been committed to sites such as Go Fund Me.

“I don’t think he needs or wants Sheffield Wednesday fans to divvy-up £100 each,” he said. “He knows that isn’t going to happen, he knows that the 70% of the fan bases who turns up every Saturday to watch them isn’t going to give them an extra £100. He knows that going in.

“What he’s saying is ‘OK, you want to call me a custodian’ - which in principle there is an argument towards. When you’re the person sitting in the box seat, and I can say this as someone who has been an owner, and you’re being told you’re a custodian while you’re doing your brains in economically, it can be frustrating.

“The chairman shouldn’t have to constantly listen to people telling him ‘it’s not his football club, he doesn’t own it’. That’s the price on the ticket, but there’s a two-way transcation. Anybody who has been an owner can relate to Chansiri. Anybody that has got any common sense would tell you Chansiri shouldn’t be doing what he’s doing. But I can relate to it.”

Jordan continued: “Do I think this admirable from a chairman? No. Do I think he should be behaving in this way? No. Do I think this is the way to communicate with a fan base? No. Do I think this relationship is broken? Probably. Is he going to be getting out of Sheffield Wednesday? Probably, if someone is prepared to come along and buy it.

“He may well have cash flow issues. What I think is that he has a cash flow issue in his mind. He has a resistance to being told what to do. It is (irresponsible) because he has taken on the responsibility of owning a football club and with that comes consequences. When you take on the job you don’t realise that the biggest detractors are the people you’re meant to be working alongside, not the opposition or the enemies you’re fighting against to try to win games of football.

“That brings with it a challenge and if you’re from a background where culturally authority is supposed to be recognised, then it is difficult. He should have got his head around this and this now makes him look like a laughing stock. This makes him look like a child with his football club.

“It’s irresponsible what he’s saying. If he backs up what he’s saying with what he does, then he puts himself in the way of damaging the opportunity for the football club. He’s probably looking at and saying that they’ve only got one win all season, ironically this weekend.”