Former Sheffield Wednesday player has message for fans and next owners
A former Sheffield Wednesday defender has spoken out over the issues at his old club.
Former Sheffield Wednesday defender Michael Gray has been saddened by the plight of his old club as the continue to move closer to a now inevitable relegation into League One.
With off-field issues continuing to hamper attempts to rebuild and the impact of the actions of their previous owner still looming large, Henrik Pedersen’s side are sitting at the bottom of the Championship table and a number of points deductions have meant they are sitting on minus seven points ahead of this weekend’s Steel City derby against Sheffield United.
The financial situation at Hillsborough has forced Pedersen to utilise the services of several young players throughout the season and the challenges that lie ahead remain obvious. Gray tried to take a positive slant on the events at his old club as he stressed he is pleased to see Wednesday fans still have a club that he hopes can be ‘regalvansied’ if and when relegation into the third tier is confirmed.
Gray, speaking exclusively to The Star via BritishGambler said: “Look, where's the next goal going to come from? I think that was the story before the weekend, before they played against Millwall, wasn't it? It's such a shame and it's sad to see every single week a huge club, let's not forget a huge club like Sheffield Wednesday, losing every single week, basically trying to throw younger players in there and basically throwing them in at the deep end. And they're a part of it which, whether it's going to help them or hinder them further on in their career, you're going to have to wait and watch from the outside, I suppose.
“But it's not a nice situation to find themselves in. But I think what they have done, they've still got a football club, and that's the main thing, because who knows where this could have been ended up. But they've got a club, they might go down to League One, but I think they've still got a chance then of regalvanising themselves and trying to bounce back as quick as they possibly can.”
Into the mire
Gray expressed his sympathy for Owls fans as they have watched their club continue to go throughout one of the most difficult periods in their history. Relegation into League One is all but certain and a major rebuild lies in wait for the club’s next owner as they look to steady the ship at Hillsborough and ensure Wednesday are on firm foundations for what everyone connected with the club will hope will be a brighter future.
Gray, who made over 40 appearances during a short spell as an Owl, has insisted the next owners should ‘have the football club at heart’ as they look to rebuild.
He explained: “They're hurting. Of course they're hurting. They don't want to see their club where it is at the moment. I think where this all maybe even all started was because there ended up being a rivalry, because Sheffield United got themselves into a position when Neil Warnock was there and obviously Chris Wilder and they've had success themselves over the last decade, whether it be in the Premier League themselves.
“I think you look at your closest rivals and you think, ‘well, why are they doing so well? And we've ended up where we are when we're supposed to be the biggest club in Sheffield?’ Even around the Yorkshire area, if you like. So that's not nice to see for the supporters, it's obviously hard to take.
“You're just hoping when ownership changes at the club that the person that walks into your football club is going to catapult you to that level that you were at many, many years ago in the 80s, in the 90s and maybe even the early noughties. For one reason or another, people have been able to put their stamp on that football club, whether it's in the right way or the wrong way. And it's just being dragged into the mire. You just hope that the next people that do walk through the door of that club, they do the due diligence on them. They've got the football club at heart and they can now just go to a stable place where they say, right, this is the level that we're at now, we've got to go step by step and build this football club back to where it once was.”
Great reception
One of the saddest aspects of the situation at Hillsborough has been the departure of Owls stalwart Barry Bannan, who returned to face his old club with Millwall at the weekend. The Scottish midfielder received an understandably positive reception from the Wednesday faithful as they showed their appreciation for a player who made over 430 appearances during an 11-year stay with their beloved club. Gray was delighted to see Bannan receive such a positive reaction and is hopeful that midfielder could return to Hillsborough in some capacity in the future.
He said: “You’ve now lost your influential captain who's gone to Millwall, they played against him at the weekend and he got a great reception and I think it just shows the respect that they had for somebody like Barry Bannan. And I'm sure that somewhere down the line or further down the line, Barry will end up back at Sheffield Wednesday, whether it is a coach or a manager at some point, if that's the avenue he wants to go down.”
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