Maybe it's time to just move things along for Danny Röhl and Sheffield Wednesday
Danny Röhl has been about as clear as he can be with regard to his intentions over his Sheffield Wednesday future - but as things stand it’s not quite that simple. Alex Miller offers his view of the situation as we understand it.
Danny Röhl makes no secret of the fact he is an ambitious young coach. Only a few months into his first management role with Sheffield Wednesday, the now 35-year-old German was quoted in media back home detailing his ambition to get to the Premier League as quickly as possible - and the hope was that Hillsborough could provide that vessel. More recently he has spoken about a desire to move forwards, never sideways, in his ambitions.
It doesn’t take Columbo to work out that he doesn’t feel he can move fast enough with Sheffield Wednesday. Having spoken as candidly as he was willing - or able - to, the clear inferences of his recent press conferences have pointed to an obvious departure in the coming weeks. In football, when it comes to players and managers speaking publicly on a desire to move on, they just do. Painful as it may be for supporters, these episodes so rarely end in a dream sequence return to the status quo.
Auf wiedersehen then, Danny. Viel Glück and danke.
But then again. As Columbo himself might well quip with furrowed brow and fingers pressed to his temple: “There’s just one more thing.”
In May last year, Danny Röhl signed a new contract with Sheffield Wednesday that extended, in theory, his time with the club to the summer of 2027. Signed in the weeks after a famous survival at Sunderland, it came at a time there were rumblings of interest from elsewhere and amid a flurry of requests for forward planning.
In December last year, Röhl’s former employers Southampton made an approach for the Wednesday manager’s services and - as a man of ambition - the talented young coach rather fancied it. What stood in the way was Dejphon Chansiri and Wednesday’s contracted right to a hefty compensation package. A messy, public stand-off in communication, an inflated Shea Charles re-signing, a Saints relegation, a tumbling underdog play-off charge and oceans of water under the bridge later, here we are.
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This is a fresh scenario. Where the previous Southampton approach came at a time it was unthinkable Wednesday would stuff cash into their pockets and wave their manager off into the sunset, the clear nature of Röhl’s intention to move on makes the prospect of him being forced to stay on an uncomfortable prospect. Staff contracts are up shortly - it’s never been truly confirmed why or on what side of the table those weren’t extended - and by all accounts the relationship between manager and owner haven’t exactly thawed.
The nuts and bolts of Röhl’s contract aren’t known and while there is a widely-held suggestion that the terms of severance would be softer for a Championship club - Southampton will become one of those in due course of course - the sums involved aren’t exactly pocket change. That December affair aside, it’s never been the understanding of The Star that a deal between Wednesday and Southampton or any other club has been agreed - or indeed approached - as of yet.
Anyone who has followed our coverage of Röhl’s situation in recent months will have noticed a repeat line to the tune of Wednesday holding out for whatever fee they are entitled to as per the terms of the contract. Any agent will tell you Chansiri is one of the meanest negotiators in the EFL and if he feels he is owed something, he’ll stand firm on it. Backward steps aren’t in his playbook, particularly if he feels he’s been wronged.
The easiest mode of travel here is that a club comes in and hands over the dough, of course. In that case - in some ways at least - everybody takes a win. A magnificent and adored talent though he is, the benefits of keeping an unhappy Röhl at the wheel don’t stack up. The cold, hard fact of the matter is that in the absence of something drastically altering the landscape once more, the Owls are better off moving on and preparing for next season - the sooner the better.
After defeat at Stoke last month, Röhl’s spiky suggestion that Wednesday could find themselves in a relegation dogfight next season drew a sharp intake of breath from all who heard it. But with so many unknowns at current, it’s difficult to build a strong case against it.
Until any official approaches come in, the sense is that nothing will move and Wednesday will be left in limbo. Is it beyond the realms of possibility that Röhl is stood at a pre-season friendly at Alfreton Town in a few months time? Nothing at this barmy football club truly is. But the logic is there for the Owls to engage in any negotiations that come their way and strike a deal to move things along. Maybe they should go as far as to welcome them.
Time is precious in a football summer and as we’ve seen previously, delays cost points. Things can move quickly. For now, we wait.