Loyalty of Sheffield Wednesday fans beyond question - but unrest is rising on Dejphon Chansiri

A much-changed team, sideways rain, temperatures as low as the mood when Haji Wright headed the home side 4-1 up with half an hour to play; fair play to those that made the trip. As Coventry dropped back into second gear and Wednesday emptied their bench of youngsters to tumble out of the FA Cup, many mad Wednesdayites stayed until the end.

We jest. It was, of course, never in doubt. It's what they do.

It's a well-trodden trope for these pages to roll out the sycophantic glorying of the commitment of Sheffield Wednesday's fanbase, so we'll save the reaching for sick bags this time. It's the club's greatest asset and the factor that continues to connect it to its glorious past after nearly 24 years outside the Premier League - something surely undeniable to anyone with more than a passing view of the place.

With Wednesday staring relegation in the face, with confusion and nervousness over off-field matters arriving in the wake of a summer of chaos, there's an ever-growing sense of disquiet. Social media would have you believe that the weight of the Owls fan base is bearing down on its owner Dejphon Chansiri, radio phone-ins offering the growing hum of passionate displeasure. And with 15,000 flyers sitting in a South Yorkshire front room ready to be handed out ahead of a Birmingham City clash many already see as so-or-die, it'll be intriguing to see if that unease is displayed in the real world and live on satellite television.

The fact is that protest efforts roused by the controversial '1867 Group' so far have been, well, 'so-so' in aesthetic impact. Their bin bag protest was largely ignored, a balloon protest barely registered. It didn't take many ball boys to collect the tennis balls thrown onto the pitch in the midst of Xisco-era misery and though a December march through Hillsborough Park raised more numbers than many detractors expected, Tiananmen Square it was not. After nearly six months of activity on Twitter, a follower base of less than 3,700 hardly screams 'Viva la revolución.'

The group confidently argue that from small acorns the momentum behind their cause is growing and that media coverage of these efforts has delivered publicity they feel is required to further their cause. Football is all relative of course, but it's a curiosity that football fans in a region with picket lines running through its blood has been comparatively undecided on its hunger for ownership protest at a time where protesting supporters of a whole number of clubs including Crystal Palace - 14th in the Premier League - are doing just that.

When The Star spent time covering the Hillsborough Park march in December, what was clear was a wide spread of opinion towards the action. It seemed that as many passers-by were ambivalent to the idea of pushing Chansiri to sell-up as they were in support. Many supported it but for whatever reason chose not to take part, many spoke passionately against it. Organisers behind the group have reported a split of passionate support towards them and in some cases have received personal abuse. Looking on, wider fan opinion was - and perhaps remains - decidedly split and as things stand beyond the touchscreens it is difficult to decipher where the 'vocal minority' taking part in these protests becomes something more.

Back then Danny Röhl was relatively newly installed and rousing something in the Owls' unlikely survival bid, while there was discussion that there was a transfer window to protect amid thinly-veiled threats from above that protests may not aid the budget made available to him. Perhaps that influenced things. Perhaps not.

The fact is that that overt, en masse supporter expression of feeling for and against Chansiri has always ebbed and flowed alongside fortunes on the pitch. Terrace chants arrived in the early weeks of a season that brought dire results and went all-but silent after Xisco's sacking as many reported a feeling of apathy and a desire not to upset a newly-Röhling applecart. Though many have been steadfast in their voicing of protest, social media seems to reflect that ebb and flow too in many quarters, with the dissatisfaction of many spiking once more in the team's dip in results in recent weeks and after a January transfer window in which prime targets were not secured.

Amid widespread social media derision over the club's change in direction on the sale process of season tickets is the fact that those claiming on social media to have withdrawn their support on that front have not reflected in sales. The club volunteered that over 10,000 supporters have skipped past the PayPal questions to secure their seats for a season of uncertain divisional status before the prices jump. Once again, the commitment of Sheffield Wednesday supporters getting behind their team is a long way beyond doubt.

Around 30 volunteers have signed up to hand out those 15,000 bright yellow flyers at designated points dotted around Hillsborough Stadium on Friday. The 1867 Group are encouraging fans to present the flyers in view of the Sky television cameras from the point the players walk out onto the field up until kick-off. Both Danny Röhl and Barry Bannan have spoken about the need for a lively and passionate atmosphere for a hugely important clash and protest organisers maintain that nobody taking part in the action should seek to interrupt the game or its preparations.

"Protests are a waste of time," Chansiri said in a September edition of a summer of statement greatest hits. "I would like these fans to show me how much you love your club, do not damage it. I do not want to fight with anyone but to use your words - 'enough is enough'. Please do not damage our own club, otherwise those fans need to take all responsibilities and liabilities."

Staring into that Coventry away end, assuming there were Chansiri detractors among them, it would be difficult to imagine any of them being accused of damaging Sheffield Wednesday. Indeed, to the contrary - all protests to date have been peaceful and largely respectful.

With tensions rising, with eloquent calls into radio phone-ins having gone viral and with - seemingly most importantly - Wednesday fans looking over their shoulder at the prospect of League One football next season, it feels like the heat on Chansiri could well be turned up a touch in the coming weeks. Then again, perhaps not.