Why Sheffield Wednesday legend has concerns over next season as takeover process continues
Legendary Sheffield Wednesday figure Chris Waddle is concerned the time being taken to ratify the new owners of the club will negatively impact the Owls’ efforts to bounce back into the Championship next season.
The EFL are in the process of working with a consortium led by James Bord in a detailed vetting process that will determine whether or not they are suitable and viable owners for the club. The Bord team, which also comprises of Felix Römer and Alsharif Faisal bin Jamil, submitted the highest offer to acquire Wednesday and were put forward as preferred bidders by the Owls’ administrators Begbies Traynor over Christmas, with paperwork submitted and handed over to the EFL week beginning January 5.
The Star is of the understanding that the process could stretch on well into spring as due diligence is undertaken to ensure Wednesday are put into safe hands after the failed and damned ownership of Dejphon Chansiri. Considerations include funding, background checks and other factors, as well as suitability for measures put in place by the forthcoming Independent Football Regulator.
Wednesday sit cut adrift from the relegation battle on minus-7 points and are awaiting a relegation they hope will not be confirmed at the final whistle of their derby clash at Bramall Lane later this month. With the side struggling on against huge difficulties, focus has begun to turn to the ongoing ownership saga, which has been subject to a relative wall of silence as investigations take place behind the scenes.
Waddle, who is often spoken of as the club’s greatest-ever player and remains a passionate advocate for the club and its supporters, is fearful that should the process take as long as feared - or even be subject to an extension should the Bord group not be passed fit - the football side of matters will be hamstrung by delays.
“Let's be honest, it's about next season,” he told The Star in an interview supplied by Spreadex Sports. “It's about not giving up, showing your discipline and your pride and going about your business giving it what you've got. The supporters have got behind them, the away fans are still travelling in numbers and the thing is next season.
“The frustrating part is that at the moment, nobody has taken over the club. It's going on and on. The season is a write-off but I thought by now we'd be looking at new owners and the club would be kicking on getting ready for next season. The longer it runs, the planning for next season is put on hold. It'll be a big season and you have to be ready. We know they're relegated, so they have to bounce straight back. You don't want to be sitting in that league.
“New owners will want to kick straight back and be competing in the Championship, competing for a place in the Premier League. It's all about getting organised, but it's hard to do that when you don't know where you are with who's going to end up with the club. It needs sorting out. We know who it could be, but there's no definite.”
Some supporter concerns have been raised over the face-value viability of the preferred bidder team, which have handlings in other clubs and a football analytics firm. Waddle was for years a vocal critic of Chansiri and wants to see a structured plan put in place to return Sheffield Wednesday to the Premier League - both on and off the pitch.
He continued: “It's down to the guys that have looked into it and that have been shown their situation and everything. I don't want someone to come in like Chansiri, have two great years and then all of a sudden have no money left. You want a long-term project where you go back up and you build up to knocking on the door to the Premier League. There has to be a structure where there's money. They need to do the stadium up, they need to do the training ground up. Whatever you need to be a Premier League football club, they need to go and do it.
“You see Wrexham, you see Birmingham, they've come in and got promoted and yes, they've spent money. You don't want to have a four or five year run and find you've got no money left, a club that size needs a structure where in 30 years time you're going along nicely, buying players, selling players. It’s about building something proper.”
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