Exclusive:Honesty, new starts and a Howard Wilkinson speech: Inside Sheffield Wednesday's meeting with iconic ex-players
It’s a photo that signals a new dawn for Sheffield Wednesday’s relationship with its history.
Many of the great and good of Sheffield Wednesday’s playing alumni gathered at Hillsborough stadium on Thursday evening in an event designed to welcome the history of the club back to the forefront at S6.
Iconic names who represented the club from every decade since the 1960s were present; with heroes from the 1966 FA Cup final through the promotions of the 70s, 80s and 90s, to the 1991 Rumbelows Cup win, to the mid-2010s Championship play-off cohort and right up to the dramatic promotion effort of 2023.
The evening, which took on a relaxed and informal set-up and was housed at Dooley’s Restaurant in the South Stand, appears to be something of a line in the sand on how many ex-players feel they were treated not only in the last decade while the club was under the stewardship of Dejphon Chansiri. Many feel a lack of proper acknowledgement of its ex-players reaches even further back in theclub’s modern history.
Chansiri waged something of a public war with some notable ex-players and many grew to feel unwelcome at Hillsborough. Some iconic ex-players are known to have purchased tickets online to watch games after the club failed to respond to enquiries. One attendee told The Star recently that among all his former clubs, Wednesday were the only one that had historically failed to engage with him and his ex-teammates on a regular basis.
The club’s new ownership are intent on changing that, with chairman David Storch having spoken publicly about a desire to better recognise Wednesday’s vast history and welcome their ex-players back. It’s understood that he, his co-owner son Michael, CEO David Bruce and newly-announced sporting director Simon Wilson spent time moving between the five-table set-up at Dooley’s to introduce themselves to the former players and that the response among attendees was overwhelmingly positive.
It’s understood that in keeping with a relaxed atmosphere there was no grand presentation, with Storch standing to say a few words on behalf of the ownership and to make clear the fresh direction his Wednesday will take with regard to its relationship with its playing alumni. David Bruce also spoke along similar lines and attendees were served finger food to their tables as senior club figures did the rounds.
Themes touched on from the club hierarchy followed a consistent theme to those shared with supporters at recent Q&A events and included a desire to lay the foundations of an appropriate infrastructure first and foremost. As has been previously expressed, it was made clear that while the long-term goal is to of course return the club to the Premier League, no firm timescale has been set on that mission as they get to grips with a sustainable model for long-term success.
Attendees told The Star that iconic former manager Howard Wilkinson stood to offer an impromptu speech on behalf of those present. Wilkinson, a boyhood Wednesdayite who went on to play for the Owls before managing them across five successful seasons and later performed a vital role as interim chairman, is believed to have expressed the potential of the club and its importance to the city - as well as to those in the room. The Star is told that Wilkinson said that from what he’s seen and heard of the new ownership, he and others in the room have felt encouraged by their start.
As revealed at a fan event earlier this week, legendary former striker David Hirst is on board as a club ambassador and will host matchday experiences in a transformed ‘Hirsty’s Social’ space based in what was the 1867 Lounge. Other ex-players and club figures will join him. There is believed to have been some chatter in the room about the potential creation of a former players club as is common elsewhere.
A sun-kissed photograph taken on the steps of the South Stand was published to Wednesday’s social media on Friday morning and has received an appreciative response from the club’s fanbase. The evening, which seems to have hit the right notes with the players present, appears to have served as another positive step in the right direction.