Whatever happens, there will always be a Sheffield Wednesday
Alan Biggs on what the future holds for Sheffield Wednesday
Hillsborough is the last place to find any solace or perspective right now. Except for one thing that towers above the current crisis.
There will always be a Sheffield Wednesday … you can save that for if I’m wrong. If I am, Wednesday will be the only major English club forced out of existence.
It ain’t happening. While that might seem either flippant or of little reassurance amid the ongoing turmoil, the history of clubs in crisis comes galloping to the rescue.
And that’s at least of some tangible comfort as Wednesday face a range of doomsday options. The worst of those might not be going into administration, as many a club can testify.
Since the formation of the Premier League in 1992, 49 English clubs have slipped into that sad state, some more than once. All but a couple of smaller ones in Macclesfield and Bury (both reformed) have come out the other end in terms of league status.
Some of them are thriving, like FA Cup winners Crystal Palace and Leeds United, back in the top flight. Hard to believe now that Chelsea and Bournemouth once used the administration route.
Oh, and look, Wrexham is on that list, now enjoying an epic Hollywood ride of three successive promotions and maybe even a fourth to come in the Championship - where past miscreants include Leicester, Derby and Coventry.
Look locally and Barnsley, Rotherham, Doncaster and Chesterfield will tell you their tales of sailing too close to the wind.
Sheffield United might have been sucked in had they not won promotion in 2023. And Wednesday themselves were on the brink before being rescued by Milan Mandaric in 2010. Older supporters can remember the dark days of the 1970s and the “Save Our Owls” crusade.
None of this is a source of honour and pride. Reckless financial behaviour has become such a shameful norm in football that an independent regulator will shortly preside over it.
But at least you can see a trend of some hope to Wednesday here, too historic and well supported to be driven into oblivion.
Club and fans might well take a hit, one relegation and maybe even too, but they are sure to bob back up when the downward cycle is complete.
What matters even more is that lessons are learned and proper business practice observed in future.
No more chasing of the dream. That sounds dull but is far preferable to spiralling into a nightmare, providing this owner can be chased out.
Your next Sheffield Wednesday read: Chatting Sheffield Wednesday with Barry Bannan and Chris Powell